On December 7th 2020, Pregnancy Justice alongside Ancient Song Doula Services, The Bronx Defenders, Movement for Family Power, and the New York Civil Liberties Union testified in support of the oversight hearing regarding maternal mortality and morbidity in New York City.
Our testimony highlights the often unexplored, yet critical connection between discriminatory drug testing in health care settings and involvement by the family regulation system, the resulting harms of family separation, and the deleterious consequences for maternal and infant health and well-being. Improving maternal health outcomes requires eliminating structural discrimination and medical racism. We need courage and holistic approaches to undo and heal the stigma and violence perpetuated by this country’s history of racism, classism, patriarchy and ableism. We applaud you for lifting up the voices of impacted families and birth justice advocates to find solutions, and we hope to add this necessary piece of the conversation in support of a robust dialogue around maternal health.
We urge you to explore bold and creative solutions that ensure care during and following birth is non-discriminatory, culturally responsive, respectful, supportive, and patient-informed.
Read the full testimony here