These trailblazing women came together to address how the mainstream reproductive rights movement long overlooked how race and class impacted women of color’s ability to make choices about their reproductive lives.
Today, we know just how critical it is to be intersectional when we fight for women and families. And when our public policies don’t account for Black women, the consequences are disastrous.
According to our analysis, more than 6.7 million Black women — 57 percent of all Black women ages 15-49 — live in the 26 states that have banned or are likely to ban abortion. We also know that 17 of these 26 states also have above-average maternal mortality rates.
Case in point: Black women are 3.5 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than their white counterparts.
Today, we remember Kira Johnson, who in 2016 tragically lost her life after giving birth to her second child through a routine C-section at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Despite concerns voiced by Kira and her family about her condition, Kira was left to bleed internally in her stomach due to a C-section complication for more than 10 hours before the medical staff took action.
Six years later, the Biden Administration launched a civil rights investigation into how Cedars-Sinai treats Black birthing people to ensure the hospital’s compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Affordable Care Act. Read more about Kira and the steps hospitals can take to improve their treatment of Black birthing people in my piece for Ms. Magazine.
