Bill Text: TX HCR28 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Designating April 11 through 17 as Black Maternal Health Week for a 10-year period beginning in 2021.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-11 - Referred to Public Health [HCR28 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HCR28-Introduced.html
| 87R8003 JGH-D | ||
| By: Thierry | H.C.R. No. 28 | |
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| WHEREAS, Maternal health is a vital concern to any society | ||
| with an interest in the present and future well-being of women, | ||
| children, and families, and the observance of Black Maternal Health | ||
| Week from April 11 through 17 focuses attention to the disparities | ||
| and inequities in maternal health for Black women; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Created by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Black | ||
| Maternal Health Week serves to amplify the voices of Black mothers | ||
| as well as the values and traditions of the reproductive justice and | ||
| birth justice movements; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The United States has the highest rate of maternal | ||
| mortality among all developed nations, and that rate is continuing | ||
| to rise, even as the rest of the developed world is seeing fewer | ||
| deaths from pregnancy-related complications; several factors have | ||
| been cited as contributing to the heightened risk of death for | ||
| American women, including inadequate state and federal funding for | ||
| maternal health as well as inefficient hospital protocols for | ||
| dealing with maternal emergencies; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Black mothers in the U.S. have been | ||
| disproportionately affected by severe maternal morbidity compared | ||
| with other demographic groups; according to the Centers for Disease | ||
| Control and Prevention, African American mothers die at three times | ||
| the rate of White mothers; the fair distribution of reproductive | ||
| health care services and maternal health programming is critical to | ||
| closing the racial gap in maternal health outcomes, and a greater | ||
| investment must be made in Black women's maternity care and in | ||
| policies that support and promote affordable, comprehensive, | ||
| holistic, and equitable maternal health care; and | ||
| WHEREAS, By spreading awareness of this crucial issue, health | ||
| professionals and other concerned Texans are working to make | ||
| maternal health for Black women a more urgent priority, to bring an | ||
| end to preventable maternal mortality, and to ensure a higher | ||
| standard of care for Black mothers in the Lone Star State; now, | ||
| therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby designate April 11 through 17 as Black Maternal Health Week; | ||
| and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of Section | ||
| 391.004(d), Government Code, this designation remain in effect | ||
| until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is finally | ||
| passed by the legislature. | ||
