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To the editor:
Labor can help address pregnancy disparities among Black mothers. Women of color and other marginalized peoples encounter life-threatening conditions at the hands of our health-care system every single day. These are not just choices made by individual health-care providers, but systemic decisions. The urgency of this issue requires that we believe in our collective power. We cannot wait on politicians any longer!
Workers across industries hold the power to unify and demand change. Our society relies on labor from women of color as nurses, teachers, home-health aides and more, but refuses to provide them with the equitable care, conditions and compensation they are owed. Black women, who are compensated the least for their labor, face the greatest maternal risks in our society.
Government statistics show that Black mothers are 3-5 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.
Labor must rise to meet this moment and fight for the reproductive rights of our society’s most vulnerable people and workers. We demand an end to the disparity in health care, family planning and reproductive freedoms many are forced to experience. Changing policy on a national level can’t happen without local organizing. Getting involved in intersectional community organizations is the first step in this fight.
The New York City Mobilization for Reproductive Justice works to defend and uphold reproductive justice on a local and national scale. Join us to fight back at reprojusticenow.org.
Anna Herman
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