Response to National Archives “Statement on the Equal Rights Amendment Ratification Process”
December 17, 2024
ERA Coalition/Fund for Women's Equality statement on Black Maternal Health Week
Press Releases
April 10, 2023
Statement from the ERA Coalition/Fund for Women's Equality on Black Maternal Health Week 2023:
Today marks the first day of Black Maternal Health Week 2023 - a week that recognizes the failing of the United States health care, education, and justice systems, and employers to address the systemic racism and misogynoir that leads to a maternal mortality rate that is 3-4 times higher for Black women than it is for non-Hispanic white women. The need to look for solutions to the crisis of Black maternal mortality is only becoming more crucial as the already unprecedented rates of overall maternal mortality in the United States are rising; the U.S. already has the highest maternal mortality rate of any high income country in the world.
Recent restrictions on access to medical and surgical abortion options in states across the country will only exacerbate these outcomes for Black women. The ERA Coalition is proud to support and partner with organizations including the National Birth Equity Collaborative, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, Center for Reproductive Rights, A Better Balance, and 9 to 5, which are leading in the work to improve maternal mortality outcomes for Black women.
We need to do more than just acknowledge this issue; we must take decisive action to uplift the voices of Black women leading in this fight and in our communities.