| R 215 |
| 2024 -- S 2980 Enacted 04/11/2024 |
| S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
| CELEBRATING "BLACK MATERNAL HEALTH WEEK" ON APRIL 11TH - 17TH, 2024, IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND |
Introduced By: Senators Mack, Ujifusa, E Morgan, F. Lombardi, Rogers, LaMountain, Britto, Lawson, Ciccone, and Gallo |
| Date Introduced: April 11, 2024 |
| WHEREAS, This year marks the seventh annual "Black Maternal Health Week" which |
| was founded and is led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance. This year’s theme is “Our Bodies |
| STILL Belong to Us: Reproductive Justice NOW!”; and |
| WHEREAS, The campaign is observed across the country in order to raise awareness for |
| Black maternal health by enhancing the dialogue, increasing community involvement, and |
| promoting solutions, policies, and research; and |
| WHEREAS, National severe maternal morbidity (SMM) rates have increased by almost |
| 200 percent since 1993, and the incidence of SMM is 2.6 times the rate percent higher for Black |
| women than white women; and |
| WHEREAS, Currently, very little research exists that examines the root causes of the |
| racial disparities in maternal health in the United States; and |
| WHEREAS, In order to improve maternal health outcomes for Black women, systemic |
| change in maternal health care that ensures that the methods used to address implicit bias and |
| racism align with Black women’s needs, values, and preferences and address the ways in which |
| health care systems perpetuate inequality is essential; and |
| WHEREAS, The Associate Director of the Office of Research on Women's Health stated, |
| “Understanding the variations in experiences across socioecological domains between white and |
| minority women in the United States is important in developing more effective policies and |
| programs to reduce racial disparities in MMM [maternal morbidity and mortality] and, ultimately, |
| save mothers”; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby celebrates "Black |
| Maternal Health Week" on April 11th - 17th, 2024, and urges all Rhode Islanders to advocate for |
| effective policies, and solutions to eliminate racism, bias, and inequities in maternal care; and be |
| it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Black Mamas Matter Alliance. |
| ======== |
| LC005710 |
| ======== |