Statement from Regina Davis Moss, In Our Own Voice’s New President and CEO

In reflection of Black Maternal Health Week, Regina Davis Moss, In Our Own Voice’s New President and CEO, released the following statement:

“This Black Maternal Health Week arrives amid a troubling landscape for Black women, femmes, and gender expansive people. The data is clear: as the CDC reported last month, our country hit a new high of maternal mortality rates during the pandemic, with the rates of Black women more than twice as high as those of White women, And we have seen this become exacerbated by attacks across the country on our bodily autonomy, the latest being a ruling to restrict our access to mifepristone, even though it has been used safely by women for decades as one of two pills in a medication abortion. Coordinated attacks on our bodily autonomy disproportionately affect communities of color, as we already face barriers to the full spectrum of reproductive health care and are often subject to greater criminalization for terminating our pregnancies. Full autonomy and the decision to have a child on one’s own terms are intrinsically linked to Black maternal health.

Now more than ever, we must advocate for community-backed policies that protect the reproductive and maternal health of Black women, femmes, and gender expansive people—and dismantle the structural racism in our healthcare system that exposes us to greater health risks. We need policy solutions to increase federal funding for doulas and midwifery care; provide comprehensive holistic maternity care for at least one year postpartum; a federal law to ban the shackling of pregnant incarcerated people; and comprehensive coverage for fertility care and treatment.

We’re proud to join other movement partners, including Black Mamas Matter Alliance who founded Black Maternal Health Week, to build a world in which Black mothers are protected and supported throughout and after their pregnancy—and are able to raise their children in communities that thrive. This week and always, we remain committed to our pursuit of reproductive justice, including ensuring that all have access to high-quality, respectful, and affordable maternal health care.”

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In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda is a national-state partnership focused on lifting up the voices of Black women leaders at the national and regional levels in our fight to secure Reproductive Justice for all women, femmes, and girls. Our eight strategic partners are Black Women for Wellness, Black Women’s Health Imperative, New Voices for Reproductive Justice, SisterLove, Inc. SisterReach, SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW, The Afiya Center and Women With A Vision.