How the Right Wing Is Killing Women

[sheshe2]

By Robert Reich

To put it bluntly, for every 100,000 births in America last year, 18.5 women died. That’s compared to 8.2 women who died during pregnancy and birth in Canada, 6.1 in Britain, and only 2.4 in Iceland.

snip

Researchers aren’t sure what’s happening but they’re almost unanimous in pointing to a lack of access to health care, coupled with rising levels of poverty.

snip

Other women are dying because they didn’t have the means to prevent a pregnancy they shouldn’t have had, or they didn’t get the prenatal care they needed during their pregnancies. In other words, a different sort of inadequate health care.

One clue: African-American mothers are more than three times as likely to die as a result of pregnancy and childbirth than their white counterparts.

The data tell the story: A study by the Roosevelt Institute shows that U.S. states with high poverty rates have maternal death rates 77 percent higher than states with lower levels of poverty. Women with no health insurance are four times more likely to die during pregnancy or in childbirth than women who are insured.

Read More:http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/how_the_right_wing_is_killing_women_20140513

[justhanginon]

1. This is far, far beyond acceptable in a country

as wealthy as this one. I don't pretend to be smart enough to have the answers but surely someone can do something if they care enough. And maybe in the end that is the problem, if they care enough. Sad, sad statistics!

[William769]

2. kick & recommended.

[ancianita]

3. It's a systemic problem and class war outcome.The very people who need to mobilize politically

are these women. I think our 1% don't even care about the dubious distinction they have of being the richest of some second tier country.

The right wing's rejection of Medicaid expansion make them deniers of their citizens' civil rights to life, etc., and breakers of their oaths of office. This should go to court and the fed make these states provide Medicaid expansion.

The quality of care we extend to women, children, old folks and vets should be the standard by which we stand as a civilized developed nation.

[theHandpuppet]

6. Which is why this is a demographic they target for voter disenfranchisement

The reichwing will do everything in their power to rob the poor, the elderly and women of their votes, the only power some have left.

[ancianita]

7. I'm hoping that the focus of GOTV is to get as many of them registered as possible. Politics is

personal, now more than ever.

I'd like to see what Debbie Wasserman Schultz is doing about this, but she's not visible lately.

[Cha]

4. Yes, the rw is killing women in America and that's not all they're killing.

thanks for the thread, she~

[BlancheSplanchnik]

11. yep.

effing pukes.

[Scuba]

5. K&R

[niyad]

8. but. . we are told there is NO war on women!

[sheshe2]

9. Hey you~

I know niyad they tell us that again and again, why can't we just believe them? Oh, right...never mind.

[niyad]

10. I know. having a working brain is just SUCH an annoying thing--really interferes with the propoganda

[ProSense]

12. More info

For U.S. Mothers, Conservative Policies Can Be Deadly

Andrea Flynn

For much of the last decade, maternal mortality rates (MMRs) have declined globally. But in the United States, they have consistently increased and are now at one of the highest points in the last 25 years. If conservatives have their way with social and economic policy, it’s unlikely the U.S. will make significant strides to improve the health of mothers in the near future.

According to a report released last week in the The Lancet, the U.S. now ranks 60th out of 180 countries for maternal deaths. China is number 57. Only seven other countries experienced an increase in MMR over the past 10 years. They include Greece, Afghanistan, and South Sudan. The report estimates that for every 100,000 births, 18.5 mothers die in the U.S. By comparison, 13.5 women die in Iran, 6.1 in the United Kingdom, and only 2.4 in Iceland.

It is no coincidence that the U.S. MMR has increased as poverty rates have steadily climbed. In 2010, Amnesty International released a report that showed women living in the lowest-income areas were twice as likely to suffer a maternal death. States with high rates of poverty were found to have MMRs 77 percent higher than states with fewer residents living below the federal poverty level. Women of color have poverty rates more than double those of white women, and black women are 3-4 times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes.

The numerous factors that contribute to the high U.S. MMR are complex, as are the solutions required to effectively address the problem. However, one solution is already in place and is working. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will significantly improve maternal health by mandating coverage of pre-natal, maternity, and post-partum care in all insurance plans. But some of the women in greatest need will remain uninsured and at increased risk because of the refusal of 21 states to expand Medicaid. Many of those states have among the nation’s highest rates of poverty and maternal mortality.

- more -

http://www.nextnewdeal.net/us-mothers-conservative-policies-can-be-deadly

Here's The Lancet Table linked to in the piece.

U.S. stats:

Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births)

1993 12.4 (11.1 to 13.9)
2003 17.6 (15.7 to 19.5)
2013 18.5 (14.8 to 22.9)


Number of maternal deaths

1993 527 (472 to 592)
2003 752 (669 to 833)
2013 796 (638 to 995)


(Annualized) rate of change in maternal mortality ration (%)

1990-2003 2.7% (1.4 to 3.8)
2003-2013 0.5% (-1.8 to 2.8)
1990-2013 1.7 (0.8 to 2.7)


The 2011 Amnesty report charts its findings (page 13), the "impact of 2010 health care reform on maternal care" and "gaps remaining and next steps"

Deadly Delivery: The Maternal Health Care Crisis in the USA
http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/deadlydeliveryoneyear.pdf

Some of the impacts of the law.

• “Gender rating” is prohibited.
  
  
• Prenatal, maternity and newborn care, as well as primary care and preventive services, are among "essential benefits" that all insurance plans must cover.
  
  
• Doubles funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) which operate in areas and communities with provider shortages. (§10503) The expansion of community health centers could mean that an additional 40 million people every year get affordable access to health care.
  
  
• Makes midwives and birth centers more available, particularly in medically underserved communities by ensuring Medicaid reimbursement for services and facility fees, and increases Medicaid reimbursement rates (§2301).
  
  
• Greatly simplifies the process for a state to provide expanded access to family planning under Medicaid, creating the opportunity for states to save significant amounts of public funds.
  
  
• Expands maternal, infant, and early childhood home visiting programs for high-risk communities (§2952)
  
  
• Includes funds for post-partum depression research and treatment (§2952)

[sheshe2]

14. A deadly situation that this country should be ashamed of.

Thank you for the link to Amnesty USA. I have only yet read a small portion.

This can and will make a difference, with the changes in our health laws through ACA.

As always, thank you for your extensive research, ProSense. It can save lives, people need to read and understand this.

However, one solution is already in place and is working. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will significantly improve maternal health by mandating coverage of pre-natal, maternity, and post-partum care in all insurance plans. But some of the women in greatest need will remain uninsured and at increased risk because of the refusal of 21 states to expand Medicaid. Many of those states have among the nation’s highest rates of poverty and maternal mortality.
http://www.nextnewdeal.net/us-mothers-conservative-policies-can-be-deadly

[Starry Messenger]

13. Exhibit A: how the bad economy and horrible policies for such become racist and sexist.

Just in case someone was going to come in here and express their indifference, that this isn't class related, etc.

[sheshe2]

15. Correct, and thank you, Starry Messenger. nt

[niyad]

16. . .

[Comrade Grumpy]

17. I've always dreamed of living in a civilized country. Maybe some day.

[sheshe2]

18. Yes, Comrade Grumpy.

Maybe someday soon. It is far past time.

[Lunacee_2013]

19. Thank you!

Outlawing abortion doesn't stop abortion, it just puts more women at risk and it can kill them. All sorts of things can go wrong during a pregnancy, even one that's planned and wanted. Sometimes girls who are too young to carry a child get pregnant (or are raped), sometimes women get cancer while pregnant, sometimes women start to naturally miscarry and end up bleeding out. That happened to one of my neighbors about 14-15 years ago. Thankfully, the family that lived right next to her found her passed out on her living room floor and called 9-1-1. By the time she got to the E.R. the baby was already gone, but they were able to save her.

And closing all these women's clinics will only end badly. Women in Texas are already going to Mexico to get drugs that can cause a miscarriage, and they're using them without a doctor's help. There are stories out there about women/girls who ended up in the E.R. because they almost died by doing that. Plus there's the fact that those clinics do more that just abortion. Cancer screenings, STD testing, birth control, infant care, even diabetic and nutritional care and without these clinics, many poor and working class women, and their families, are going to suffer. So much for the "pro-life" crowd.

[sheshe2]

20. Yes, so much for the Pro-Life Crowd

Despite the maternal health crisis unfolding in many states, conservative state lawmakers stand firm in their refusal to expand Medicaid, even though the federal government will cover 100 percent of the cost for the first three years and a minimum of 90 percent thereafter. Some states, like Georgia, are so intent on undermining the ACA that they have passed laws to prevent state employees from advocating for expansion and have made it more difficult for people who already qualify for Medicaid to enroll.

Conservatives do not have plans to solve this crisis. In fact, their plans will only make it worse. Family planning cuts and abortion restrictions in places like Texas have shuttered women’s health clinics and obliterated the health infrastructure on which poor women relied for their basic needs. And while many women and their families are still reeling from the recession, cuts to safety net programs like food stamps have led to greater insecurity in health, income, and food than ever before.

Last week’s Lancet report is a stark reminder that women suffer heavy casualties in the partisan battles raging in states across the country. But what we are witnessing today is more than a nasty game of politics: it is a violation of women’s human rights. We should be ashamed and outraged.

http://www.nextnewdeal.net/us-mothers-conservative-policies-can-be-deadly

Thank you for your response Lunacee

[Lunacee_2013]

21. Any time.

I know other girls/women who have suffered because of those "pro-life" policies. It's a very important issue to me and I refuse to vote for anyone, man or woman, who votes against a woman's right to control her own body. Abortion should be treated just like any other medical procedure, none of that 3 day waiting period crap and no unneeded ultrasounds. No one would expect a cancer patient to wait 3 days to decide if they really wanted that chemo. And those internal ultrasounds are just too much. It's like the republicans want to force doctors to violate women. It's just wrong.