In new video, ACLU-KY calls maternal health a ‘crisis’ in Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ) – The ACLU of Kentucky this week launched a video outlining what it calls the maternal health crisis in Kentucky.

The report particularly notes people of color are three times more likely to die from complications during or soon after pregnancy than their white peers.

Pregnant people die in the United States at a higher rate than any other developed nation. If the pregnant person is Black, the rate increases.

Among people who survive pregnancy and childbirth each year, 50,000 experience life-threatening complications related to pregnancy, the ACLU added.

These complications, known as severe maternal morbidity, affect Black people twice as often. During the 2021 legislative session, Representative Attica Scott introduced the Maternal CARE Act.

This act is comprised of three pieces of legislation that would better define the causes of racial disparities in pregnancy, provide direct support by allowing Medicaid to cover the cost of doulas, and call for all pregnant Kentuckians to be treated with dignity and respect during and after childbirth.