2020 Hopefuls Harris, Gillibrand Unveil Legislation Aimed At Improving Maternal Care In U.S.
Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) released separate bills that both target dismal statistics on maternal care in the U.S. Harris' legislation especially focuses on disparities in care for minorities, while Gillibrand's includes proposals to make adoption and fertility treatments more accessible.
The New York Times:
Kirsten Gillibrand Proposes Huge Investments In Maternal Health, Child Care And Education
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s presidential campaign on Wednesday introduced a proposal aimed at investing heavily in maternal and child health, adoption and in vitro fertilization, paid family leave and universal prekindergarten. The proposal, which Ms. Gillibrand called the “Family Bill of Rights,” continued her campaign’s focus on women and families. On Tuesday, she was among several Democratic candidates who joined a rally outside the Supreme Court to protest new abortion restrictions that some states had recently adopted. (Saul, 5/22)
The Associated Press:
Harris, Gillibrand Offer Plans To Bolster Maternal Care
[Sen. Kamala] Harris' bill, first introduced in 2018, would create a $25 million program to fight racial bias in maternal care. It would direct grants to medical schools, nursing schools and other training programs to improve care for black women, who are three to four times more likely than white women to die in childbirth. Her revived proposal also would allocate an additional $125 million toward identifying high-risk pregnancies and, according to her Senate office, provide mothers with the "culturally competent care and resources they need." (Summers and Weissert, 5/22)
The Hill:
Harris Introduces Bill To Combat Racial Bias In Maternal Health Care
“Black mothers across the country are facing a health crisis that is driven in part by implicit bias in our health care system," Harris said in a statement Wednesday. "We must take action to address this issue, and we must do it with the sense of urgency it deserves." The U.S. has the highest rate of pregnancy-related deaths among industrialized countries, and black women are three- to four-times more likely to die from pregnancy-related issues than white women, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (Hellmann, 5/22)
Des Moines Register:
Election 2020: Kirsten Gillibrand Targets Healthcare For Rural Women
To promote her new policy plan to support children and family, Democratic candidate Kirsten Gillibrand will stop in Iowa for a West Des Moines roundtable with Iowa women and lawmakers and visit Iowa Falls, which has struggled with child care options and had its hospital recently stopped delivering babies. The New York senator's policy plan focuses on children and aims to tear down obstacles that American families, particularly low-income residents, face when caring for their younger children. (Ta, 5/22)
In other news on women's health legislation in Congress —
CQ:
Senate Veterans Panel Debates Mental Health, Women's Care Bills
The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Wednesday considered a host of bills that included two legislative packages on mental health and improving women’s health care, mirroring a similar push in the House. The bipartisan bills received widespread support from advocacy groups, but the committee has not yet scheduled a formal markup. (Clason, 5/22)
