The well-known racial disparities in health care have only worsened as abortion restrictions and bans have increased both before and after the Roe v. Wade reversal.
New restrictive abortion conditions are particularly harmful to the health of Black women. This restriction makes it difficult for people to make decisions about pregnancy, Possibility of poor maternal health. One study It is estimated that if abortion were completely banned in the United States, there would be an additional 140 additional maternal deaths per year, with Black people experiencing the greatest increase in deaths.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control, black women are already at two to three times higher risk of maternal mortality.Minnesota Department of Health report It shows that while black people in Minnesota make up 13% of mothers, they account for 23% of pregnancy-related deaths.
Thankfully, The Minnesota Constitution and new law protect the abortion rights of Minnesotans and those with the means to travel to Minnesota. This was important when Roe went down. 47% increase in abortions Even before the decision was made.
But abortion rights are meaningless if access to them depends on race, wealth, geography, gender, or ability.
That's why we need to build infrastructure to ensure sustainability so that abortion clinics can provide more care to more patients. Patient-centered care is available in Minnesota, but a lack of funding is putting the availability of that care at risk.
$30 million is needed to maintain Minnesota's independent clinics for the next five years. The proposed bill would create a Reproductive Health Equity Fund and allocate the funds directly to Minnesota abortion providers to support a sustainable state ecosystem. This funding allocation follows the example of other progressive states and will not only address the needs of Minnesotans, but also address the influx of patients the state is seeing as a result of the national attack on abortion access. It turns out.
When a person decides to have an abortion, she needs the best care for her situation, and her health care provider needs to have the resources to offer all of her clinician-guided options. But now, economic inequalities and system gaps are reducing care options for both patients and providers.
As Minnesota establishes itself as an abortion access haven in the Midwest, Minnesota health care providers play an important role in the broader abortion access and maternal health environment, and their activities must be supported.
Additionally, the current abortion care infrastructure further exacerbates racial maternal health disparities. If our independent abortion clinics are closed, the path to improving maternal health rates for Black people will also be closed.
Each of us must have the power to make decisions about our sexual and reproductive health with self-determination and dignity. We can't do that without funding these important independent clinics.
