Black maternal healthcare high priority for Kamala Harris

Black maternal healthcare high priority for Kamala Harris

Credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty

Kamala Harris is set to bring her focus on black maternal mortality to the White House after a victory speech specifically thanking minority women. 

As a senator, Ms Harris introduced the Maternal Care Access and Reducing Emergencies (Maternal CARE) Act to help establish health equity for pregnant black women.

Last year researchers at the Centres for Disease Control in the US found that black, American Indian, and Alaska Native women were two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than their white counterparts.  

In her speech in Wilmington, Delaware, Ms Harris said black women were "too often overlooked, but so often prove that they are the backbone of our democracy."

“Tonight I reflect on their struggle, their determination and the strength of their vision to see what can be unburdened by what has been, and I stand on their shoulders.”

In an article on Saturday for Essence, a black women’s lifestyle magazine, she also set out her main priorities.

“We will build back our economy to support working families. We’ll eliminate the Trump tax cuts for big corporations and the top one per cent, and won’t raise taxes one cent on folks making less than $400,000,” she wrote.

“We’ll invest in lower healthcare costs and better schools, build on the ACA with a Medicare-like public option, and fight for reproductive justice by addressing maternal mortality among black women.”

She added she would protect women’s right to choose by enshrining Roe v Wade into federal law.

Ms Harris’s concern about black maternal mortality is long-standing.

Serena Williams suffered dangerous complications during childbirth

Credit: Julien de Rosa/Shutterstock

The issue was brought into sharp focus by the difficult birth of Serena Williams’ daughter Alexis Olympia in September 17.

The 14-times Wimbledon winner suffered serious complications after her baby was delivered via an emergency c-section. Complaining of shortness of breath, it emerged she was suffering from a life-threatening pulmonary embolism.

According to Ms Harris’s bill: "Pervasive racial bias against Black women and unequal treatment of Black women exist in the health care system, often resulting in inadequate treatment for pain and dismissal of cultural norms with respect to health."

Provisions included allocating $25 million (£19 m) to help medical schools identify racial bias. A further $125 million was earmarked for identifying high-risk pregnancies.

Ms Harris’s position on healthcare has shifted. Having originally backed eliminating private health insurance completely, she backtracked as her poll numbers plummeted.