[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 138 (Wednesday, October 13, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H9905]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HIGH MATERNAL DEATH RATE AMONG AMERICA'S BLACK WOMEN

  (Ms. McKINNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, black women who are pregnant are dying at 
an alarming rate. Maternal death rates among black women are four times 
those of whites. This represents the largest racial disparity in all 
public health. We need to know why. We need to get data and improve 
standards of care.
  A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
shows that for minority women, motherhood is deadly. The discrepancy of 
maternal mortality rates between black and white women is bordering on 
a crisis. Despite tremendous advances in the last 20 years, we have 
failed to make progress on maternal mortality.
  I have joined the bipartisan effort to close the gap of maternal 
mortality rates between black and white women by cosponsoring the Safe 
Motherhood Monitoring and Prevention Research Act. Women have joined 
hands across the aisle to support this bill.
  This legislation is the cornerstone of our effort to promote better 
health and to educate women about their pregnancies. Let us work to 
promote safe motherhood.

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