On International Women’s Day, the Women’s Law Project proudly joined the bipartisan bicameral Women’s Health Caucus of the Pennsylvania General Assembly this afternoon as they announced an evidence-based legislative agenda to protect and expand the rights, health, and economic security of women, LGBTQ+ and gender-nonbinary people in Pennsylvania.
WLP Director of Strategic Communications Tara Murtha’s remarks focused on Pennsylvania’s shameful treatment and systemic neglect of pregnant people and the tragic data we have to show for it.
Watch the video here.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health recently issued a new report that revealed that maternal mortality, which means pregnancy-related deaths, increased by 21.4% in Pennsylvania between 2013 and 2018. During that time, Black women comprised 23% of pregnancy-related deaths in that period of time while accounting for only 14% of births.
What does it say about Pennsylvania that we have programs & policies designed to promote pregnancy and childbirth but refuse to ensure fewer people die doing the very thing we encourage?
The Women’s Health Caucus has repeatedly introduced bills to support healthy pregnancies, yet our Legislative leadership seems to have no interest in passing them.
PA Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
Take the Pennsylvania Pregnant Workers Fairness Act for example. We, along with fellow advocates and members of the WHC, have advocated for this bill for about eight years. This bill would provide basic workplace protections for pregnant people, prevent miscarriage, and protect pregnant people from being unfairly pushed out of the workplace.
Thirty-one states and four cities including Philadelphia have passed this legislation, yet it’s been repeatedly blocked in the General Assembly.
This inaction has dire consequences in the time of coronavirus.
We get calls every day from pregnant Pennsylvanians who are terrified because they’re being coerced to return to physical workplaces even though pregnancy is a condition that increases the risk of severe illness and death from COVID.
Each call is heartbreaking, and even more so because it didn’t have to be this way. It is shameful that in a year of debating COVID response, a bill that would protect pregnant people from unnecessary exposure to COVID was totally ignored.
Medical Experts Say Legislation Prioritized by the PA House Health Committee Will Increase Maternal Mortality
In January, the House Health Committee highlighted just three specific bills as priorities for this session. They all have to do with pregnant people; medical and public health experts oppose every single one.
- HB1977 is a six-week abortion ban. ACOG, the main professional organization of medical experts, said this legislation “will likely increase negative health outcomes and complications, including maternal and infant mortality.”
- SB21 is a “reason” abortion ban. ACOG says such bills “[endanger] the health of women” and “compel[s] high-risk women to endanger their lives, increasing maternal mortality.”
- HB1890 would require a death certificate for all pregnancy loss, enabling the state to track pregnancy outcomes. ACOG, The American Public Health Association, and the American Medical Association litigated against a similar bill on the grounds it “provide[s] no medical, public health, or safety benefits; in fact, they may increase the risk to public health.”
Let that sink in. We’re in a pandemic and maternal mortality is rising, in part due to lack of prenatal healthcare. In 2019, almost a quarter (22.6%,) of infants born in Pennsylvania were born to mothers who had inadequate or no prenatal care—and that was before COVID-19 made accessing healthcare even more difficult. And Pregnant Pennsylvanians are begging for help to keep safe from COVID.
Our Health policy leadership responded by prioritizing legislation that would increase maternal mortality, increase infant mortality, and harm public health.
It’s clear some of our lawmakers are so ruthlessly focused on restricting access to abortion—a safe, legal, and common procedure—that they have failed to support and protect people who choose to give birth.
Moving Forward
Let’s change that now. We call on our legislative leaders to meet the moment. Let’s work together to finally address and correct Pennsylvania’s shameful neglect of pregnant people. We call on the chair of the House Labor Committee to bring the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act for a vote as a good start.
We call on the General Assembly to support evidence-based legislation introduced by the Women’s Health Caucus, to address police brutality, to include LGBTQ+ people in all of our anti-discrimination laws, and to raise the wage to a livable wage.
This list is not inclusive. There is much work to be done! WLP will be sharing our full public policy agenda soon. Stay tuned.
The Women’s Law Project is a public interest law center in Pennsylvania devoted to advancing and defending the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people in Pennsylvania and beyond.
March 2021: Our physical offices are still closed due to the pandemic but we are OPEN and working to serve your needs. Contact us here.
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