Maternal death rate isn't as bad if you don't count Black women, GOP senator says

The state's poor maternal mortality rate is due to the high proportion of Black women, according to Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy.

Louisiana has one of the worst maternal death rates in the country, and Cassidy's comment was featured in an in-depth exploration of the issue. State officials said that the state ranks 47 out of 48 for maternal deaths.

About a third of our population is African American, and African Americans have a higher incidence of maternal mortality, Cassidy told the outlet.

If you correct our population for race, we are not as much of an outlier.

He said that not to minimize the issue but to focus on where it would be. People of color have a higher incidence of maternal mortality.

Four black mothers die for every white mother in Louisiana according to the Department of Health. The three-to-one ratio nationwide is already the worst in the developed world.

Dean Williams discussed Cassidy's comments in a post. The article was part of a partnership with the school.

Black women have high maternal mortality rates. They are high because of the devastating impacts of structural racism.

According to the CDC, Black women are disadvantaged in their access to care, quality of care, prevalence of chronic diseases, structural racism, and implicit biases in healthcare.

Williams said she found Cassidy's framing disturbing.

This is not a time to argue about how states are ranked.

It is not a time to correct for race. Louisiana has a large population of Black women and must seize a leadership role in making birth safer for all.

She noted that Cassidy supports public health measures that protect pregnancies.

The leak of a leaked draft of a Supreme Court decision to overturn abortion rights came soon after Cassidy commented.

Louisiana Right To Life says that Cassidy has a 100% pro-life voting record, and that he is one of 13 states withtrigger laws that would ban abortion.

The Lancet warned that women will die if the decision is overturned. Black women will be the group most affected by the move.

Cassidy said that if we use abortion to limit maternal deaths, that is kind of odd.