Dems turn black maternal deaths into powerful 2020 issue

Democratic presidential candidates led by Sens. Kamala Harris (Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) are talking about an issue that hasn’t historically received much attention on the campaign trail: the high rates of pregnancy-related deaths among black women.

For black women — a key voting bloc in the Democratic Party — issues of maternal mortality and racial disparities in health care have particular resonance, and that hasn’t gone unnoticed by some of the top 2020 candidates, including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

Warren and Harris have made addressing the issue a core part of their platforms, appealing to black women whose support is critical to winning the Democratic primary.

“We are facing a maternal mortality crisis in America,” Warren wrote in an op-ed published Wednesday in Essence, a magazine geared toward black women. “And for Black moms, particularly those living in rural areas, it’s an epidemic.”

The U.S. has the highest rate of pregnancy-related deaths among industrialized countries, partly because of the prevalence of C-sections that can lead to life-threatening complications and underlying, chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/441714-dems-turn-black-maternal-deaths-into-powerful-2020-issue