[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 13, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 22095-22096]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08074]
[[Page 22093]]
Vol. 87
Wednesday,
No. 71
April 13, 2022
Part III
The President
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Proclamation 10365--Black Maternal Health Week, 2022
Proclamation 10366--Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2022
Proclamation 10367--National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day,
2022
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 87 , No. 71 / Wednesday, April 13, 2022 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 22095]]
Proclamation 10365 of April 8, 2022
Black Maternal Health Week, 2022
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Pregnancy and childbirth should be a dignified, safe,
and joyful experience for all. For far too many
mothers, however, complications related to pregnancy,
childbirth, and postpartum can lead to devastating
health outcomes--including hundreds of deaths each
year. This maternal health crisis is particularly
devastating for Black women, who are more than three
times as likely to die from pregnancy-related
complications as white women, regardless of their
income or education. During Black Maternal Health Week,
we renew our commitment to addressing the crisis of
Black maternal mortality and morbidity across the
country.
The Biden-Harris Administration remains fully committed
to ameliorating these unacceptable disparities and
building a health care system that is equitable and
safe for Black families. The inequities that Black
mothers face are not isolated incidents but, rather,
the byproduct of systemic racism in our society that
has festered for far too long. To root it out, and
improve health outcomes, we must address a broad range
of areas where unequal access persists along racial
lines--including access to health care, adequate
nutrition and housing, toxin-free environments, high-
paying job sectors that provide paid leave, and
workplaces free from harassment and discrimination.
That is why the American Rescue Plan gives States the
opportunity to provide 12 months of extended postpartum
coverage to pregnant people enrolled in Medicaid and
the Children's Health Insurance Program. It is also why
I signed the Protecting Moms Who Served Act--part of
the Black Maternal Health ``Momnibus'' Act that Vice
President Harris introduced in the Senate--to address
the maternal challenges that women veterans face. It is
why Vice President Harris hosted the first-ever White
House Maternal Day of Action Summit and announced a
nationwide call to action to reduce maternal mortality
and morbidity.
To improve perinatal health outcomes and maternal
health equity, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services intends to propose the first-ever hospital
quality designation specifically focused on maternity
care. In addition, the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration recently accepted
applications for the Services Grant Program for
Residential Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum
Women--a program that provides pregnant and postpartum
women and their children with comprehensive substance
use treatment and recovery support services across
residential and outpatient settings. This year, the
program will also extend services to fathers, partners,
and other family members.
In the year ahead, we must build on this work by
further expanding access to maternal care, lowering
health care costs, and making new investments to drive
down mortality and improve maternal health. We are
going to expand and diversify the maternal health
workforce, improve maternal mental health treatment,
bolster community-based programs, train providers,
enhance research, and ensure that maternal care is
better coordinated. This is more than just the right
thing to do--it is also a strategic imperative that
makes all of us healthier and all of us stronger. When
women--regardless of race--do not receive the health
care they need and deserve, it threatens
[[Page 22096]]
the strength and stability of our families, our
communities, and our entire Nation.
It is on all of us to ensure that no person's race ever
determines their health outcomes and that every person
preparing to give birth is treated with dignity,
safety, and respect in our health care system. During
Black Maternal Health Week, we refocus on that effort
and celebrate America's extraordinary maternal health
care workforce--including doulas and midwives, who
offer crucial support for our Nation's mothers
throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum and
whose work is essential to the health and well-being of
all of our mothers and children.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 11
through April 17, 2022, as Black Maternal Health Week.
I call upon all Americans to raise awareness of the
state of Black maternal health in the United States by
understanding the consequences of systemic
discrimination, recognizing the scope of this problem
and the need for urgent solutions, amplifying the
voices and experiences of Black women, families, and
communities, and committing to building a world in
which Black women do not have to fear for their safety,
their well-being, their dignity, or their lives before,
during, and after pregnancy.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
sixth.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2022-08074
Filed 4-12-22; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P