'The Press Has Never Taken Reproductive Health Seriously': Hillary Lets Loose on Women's Rights
The unspoken secret in America—a country that lives to zoom in on celeb baby bumps, sustains entire industries that make their dollars telling moms to do better, and fiercely debates the rights of fetuses—is that we have the highest maternal mortality rate of any wealthy nation in the world. In 2017, American women were more likely to die in pregnancy, childbirth, or in the immediate aftermath of birth than women in Qatar and Kazakhstan. The statistics exist at the exact intersection of unbearable and infuriating—one-third of those deaths, a hugely disproportionate number, are African-American women. Of the deaths that occurred between 2011 and 2015, the CDC found that at least 60% could have been prevented.
“It’s not at all complicated,” Hillary Clinton tells Glamour, speaking from a local clinic in Puerto Rico where the Clinton Foundation has partnered to help local midwives bring aid to pregnant women and new mothers. “We’re not getting adequate medical care for prenatal exams and treatment for birth and delivery, and as a result there are many places in the United States that have a third-world rate of maternal mortality.” Texas—the state with the highest uninsured population—has some of the highest rates of death for pregnant women and new mothers, she explains. “We should be treating it like the health emergency that it is.”
In a phone interview, the former Secretary of State didn’t mince words, managing to communicate a series of unerringly polite, acerbic takedowns: of the way the press treats abortion rights, of climate change deniers and women’s health crisis skeptics, and, most vigorously, of anyone who’s considering giving up hope. Clinton, a 72-year-old whose life has been a curious mix of exhilarating firsts and crushing defeats, made this much clear—your despair makes the people in power’s jobs easier. Now is no time to give up.
Puerto Rico, which President Trump said received “too much aid” after the U.S. territory was devastated by hurricanes, is an area of focus for the Clinton Global Initiative. Its efforts there involve partnerships with over 700 organizations to help the island recover from disaster while preparing for the inevitable destruction that future storms will bring. The partnerships range from strategizing sustainable disaster relief fundraising to facilitating the training of public school teachers to ensuring that disaster relief workers get access to quality mental health care.
https://www.glamour.com/story/hillary-clinton-maternal-health-interview-reproductive-rights
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