The only place Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has time to read anything that isnt one of her briefing books is when shes on a plane. In April 2018, Harris saw a harrowing story in The New York Times Magazine detailing the unique horrors of maternal mortality for black women.
For black women in America, the article reads, an inescapable atmosphere of societal and systemic racism can create a kind of toxic physiological stress, resulting in conditions including hypertension and pre-eclampsia that lead directly to higher rates of infant and maternal death.
It was devastating, recalled Harris to HuffPost this week. When I was able to see to the numbers, it propelled me. It prompted me to do something.
Women living in the U.S. have higher rates of maternal mortality than those in other high-income countries, due, in part, to the disproportionate rates of pregnancy-related deaths for black women. A recent CDC study found that black women are 3.3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. This means that for every 100,000 live births, nearly 43 black women will die.
The disparity cuts across class and educational lines : Following the birth of her daughter, Serena Williams suffered a pulmonary embolism , among many other potentially fatal complications. A nurse brushed Williams off when she initially sought treatment. Beyonc was on bed rest for six weeks due to preeclampsia a sudden jump in blood pressure during the later stages of pregnancy , for which black women are disproportionately at risk before having an emergency C-section.
Harris forwarded the Times article to her staffers and encouraged them to read it with the intent of figuring out what could be done legislatively. Nearly a year before, in the summer of 2017, Harris had read a Vox article about Stanford Universitys California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, an initiative that collects data on maternal health, identifies preventable complications and then figures out next steps. She sent her staff that one, too.
Every day we wait, every day we dont address it, is a day that a mother could possibly die.
- Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.)
Her team got to work on what would evolve into the Maternal CARE Act , a bill comprising three key components that address the issue of black maternal mortality through a systemic lens. The legislation aims to make providers aware of any underlying racial biases they hold via implicit bias training, to commission a national study to develop ways to institute that training more broadly and to establish care programs that provide integrated services to pregnant women and new moms.
The bill, to be reintroduced in the coming weeks, is part of a current onslaught of legislation attempting to address the issue of black maternal mortality. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) reintroduced the MOMS Act , a complement to Harris bill, in January. In March, Illinois Democrats Rep. Robin Kelly and Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth reintroduced the MOMMAs Act .
The following month, Reps. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Alma Adams (D-N.C.) launched the Black Maternal Health Caucus in the U.S. House. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) explained how she plans to tackle black maternal mortality as part of her 2020 presidential platform.
Pressley then introduced the MOMMIES Act in May, a companion bill to legislation Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) initially introduced last year.
I cant sit by, knowing this is something that is happening, and not do something about it, Harris said.
Harris didnt simply send the articles out to her staff and sit back waiting on someone to hand her a finished piece of legislation.
She made sure we all read it, said Rohini Kosoglu, Harris Senate chief of staff. This article came out, have people seen it? We sent it around, then she would follow up: Have you guys read it? [and] have a conversation about it.
The senator wasnt checking in every day. But every few weeks, often when it was least expected, she would inquire as to the status of the bill. She wanted to make sure that weve identified an issue people are hurting who are vulnerable people and that we are sticking to a decent timeline to get this all done and out, said Kosoglu.
Every day we wait, every day we dont address it, is a day that a mother could possibly die, Harris said. Or just not receive the kind of health care that can lead to the best outcomes in terms of her health and the health of her baby. I take it very seriously.
Harris has always been acutely aware of disparities in womens health. Throughout her life, she listened to her mother, breast cancer researcher Shyamala Gopalan, discuss how health issues affecting women of color arent given the same level of attention.
The fact of it is not shocking, but to see the documentation of it and the unfairness of it its just so wrong, said Harris. You dont have to scratch the surface of this issue very deep to know it is literally all about racial bias.
You dont have to scratch the surface of this issue very deep to know it is literally all about racial bias.
- Kamala Harris
Whenever a policy issue pertains to vulnerable populations particularly women and children of color Harris zeal becomes more apparent. In one instance, she went up to Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) on the Senate floor to discuss black maternal mortality. Harris wants other lawmakers to be aware that socioeconomic status and educational attainment doesnt prevent black mothers from dying.
Its literally all about race, reiterates Harris while noting that Scott was surprised and concerned. (Scotts office did not respond to HuffPosts request for comment.)
I think of that as being a part of my role and my responsibility as a leader, she continued, which is to help educate people about issues that they should know about and that if they knew about would prompt them to act.
Jamila Taylor, a senior fellow and the director of Womens Health and Rights at the Center for American Progress, reached out to Harris office to collaborate on the issue after the senator tweeted out a column Taylor had written about black maternal mortality for Mothers Day. This sparked a series of meetings and conversations that took place throughout 2018 and 2019. Taylor, who helped write the legislation, continues to work with Harris and her office today.
They were attentive. They were always seeking to learn more about the issue, said Taylor of Harris staff. They really wanted to get a grounding and also wanted to make sure that she had a grounding before they decided how they would enter into the space and what kind of legislation they would introduce.
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