Harrisburg, PA, April 13, 2023 – At a Black Maternal Health Week news conference organized by the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, Women’s Health Caucus, and Commission for Women, Pennsylvania Second Lady Blayre Holmes Davis emphasized the Shapiro-Davis Administration’s key proposed investments in improving Black maternal health across the Commonwealth.
“For far too long, the injustice has existed that Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications, more than any other race,” said Second Lady Blayre Holmes Davis. “Behind the shocking disparities are real people. These are people who loved and were loved. These are people who left behind families and communities that needed them and are still grieving from a tragedy that is preventable. This Administration is fighting for them.”
“There is a popular quote that says, ‘When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment it grows in, not the flower,’” said Holmes Davis. “It is long overdue that we fix the environment of the lack of reproductive health care services for Black women. It is long overdue that we fix the environment that leads to Black women dying when all they should feel is seen, respected, and protected. And it is long overdue that we fix the environment that treats Black women anything less than what we are, which is magical.”
The Shapiro-Davis Administration is fighting for healthier families and communities all across Pennsylvania – from ensuring our kids have enough to eat, to expanding services for those with intellectual disabilities and autism, to taking action to address racial disparities in maternal health. The Shapiro-Davis budget invests $2.3 million to expand maternal health programming and study ways to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity.
