Illinois 2025-2026 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HR0237 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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3	3	1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
4	4	2 WHEREAS, According to the Centers for Disease Control and
5	5	3 Prevention, Black women in the United States are two to three
6	6	4 times more likely than White women to die from
7	7	5 pregnancy-related causes; and
8	8	6 WHEREAS, Black women and people living in low-income and
9	9	7 rural communities in the United States are most likely to
10	10	8 suffer from life-threatening pregnancy complications, known as
11	11	9 maternal morbidities; and
12	12	10 WHEREAS, Maternal mortality rates in the United States are
13	13	11 among the highest in the developed world with 23.8 deaths per
14	14	12 100,000 live births in 2020, 32.9 in 2021, 22.3 in 2022, and
15	15	13 18.6 in 2023; and
16	16	14 WHEREAS, The United States has the highest maternal
17	17	15 mortality rate among affluent countries, in part because of
18	18	16 the disproportionate mortality rate of Black women; and
19	19	17 WHEREAS, According to the 2025 CDC Report, in 2023, the
20	20	18 U.S maternal mortality rate decreased for White (14.5),
21	21	19 Hispanic (12.4), and Asian (10.7) women but increased to 50.3
22	22	20 deaths per 100,000 live births for Black women; and
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31	31	1 WHEREAS, KFF, which was formerly known as The Kaiser
32	32	2 Family Foundation, reported that from 2018-2022, the maternal
33	33	3 mortality rate in Illinois was 18 per 100,000 live births; and
34	34	4 WHEREAS, Black women are 50 percent more likely than all
35	35	5 other women to give birth to premature, low birth weight, and
36	36	6 very low birth weight infants; and
37	37	7 WHEREAS, The high rates of maternal mortality among Black
38	38	8 women span across income levels, education levels, and
39	39	9 socioeconomic status; and
40	40	10 WHEREAS, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
41	41	11 found that more than 80 percent of pregnancy-related deaths
42	42	12 are preventable; and
43	43	13 WHEREAS, The leading causes of maternal mortality among
44	44	14 Black women and birthing persons include eclampsia,
45	45	15 preeclampsia, postpartum cardiomyopathy, and obstetric
46	46	16 embolism, and these conditions impact Black women and birthing
47	47	17 people disproportionately; and
48	48	18 WHEREAS, Structural racism, gender oppression, and the
49	49	19 social determinants of health inequities experienced by Black
50	50	20 women in the United States significantly contribute to the
51	51	21 disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality and
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62	62	1 morbidity among Black women; and
63	63	2 WHEREAS, Racism and discrimination play a consequential
64	64	3 role in maternal health care experiences and outcomes of Black
65	65	4 birthing people; and
66	66	5 WHEREAS, The overturn of Roe v. Wade impacts Black women
67	67	6 and birthing people's right to reproductive healthcare and
68	68	7 bodily autonomy and further perpetuates reproductive
69	69	8 oppression as a tool to control women's bodies; and
70	70	9 WHEREAS, A fair and wide distribution of resources and
71	71	10 birth options, especially with regard to reproductive health
72	72	11 care services and maternal health programming, is critical to
73	73	12 addressing inequities in maternal health outcomes; and
74	74	13 WHEREAS, States and rural counties with higher Black
75	75	14 population rates have severe maternity care deserts, where
76	76	15 there are no hospitals or birth centers offering obstetric
77	77	16 care and no obstetric providers and diminished access to
78	78	17 reproductive healthcare providers due to low Medicaid
79	79	18 reimbursements, rising costs, and persistent healthcare
80	80	19 workforce shortages; and
81	81	20 WHEREAS, Illinoisans face higher rates of maternity care
82	82	21 deserts with 34.3 percent of counties defined as maternity
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93	93	1 care deserts compared to the 32.6 percent national average,
94	94	2 where women of childbearing age do not have access to
95	95	3 hospitals or birth centers offering maternity care or
96	96	4 obstetric providers; and
97	97	5 WHEREAS, Maternity care deserts lead to higher risks of
98	98	6 maternal morbidity and mortality as most complications occur
99	99	7 in the postpartum period when birthing people are far away
100	100	8 from their providers; and
101	101	9 WHEREAS, Black midwives, doulas, perinatal health workers,
102	102	10 and community-based organizations provide holistic maternal
103	103	11 care and support but face structural and legal barriers to
104	104	12 licensure, reimbursement, and provision of care; and
105	105	13 WHEREAS, Black women and birthing persons experience
106	106	14 increased barriers to accessing prenatal and postpartum care,
107	107	15 including maternal mental health care; and
108	108	16 WHEREAS, COVID-19, which has disproportionately harmed
109	109	17 Black Americans, is associated with an increased risk for
110	110	18 adverse pregnancy outcomes and maternal and neonatal
111	111	19 complications; and
112	112	20 WHEREAS, New data from the Centers for Disease Control and
113	113	21 Prevention has indicated that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the
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124	124	1 maternal mortality rate for Black women has increased by 26
125	125	2 percent; and
126	126	3 WHEREAS, There are concerted efforts to increase uptake of
127	127	4 maternal vaccinations; and
128	128	5 WHEREAS, Even as there is growing concern about improving
129	129	6 access to mental health services, Black women are least likely
130	130	7 to have access to mental health screenings, treatment, and
131	131	8 support before, during, and after pregnancy; and
132	132	9 WHEREAS, Black pregnant and postpartum workers are
133	133	10 disproportionately denied reasonable accommodations in the
134	134	11 workplace, leading to adverse pregnancy outcomes; and
135	135	12 WHEREAS, Black pregnant people disproportionately
136	136	13 experience surveillance and punishment, including shackling
137	137	14 incarcerated people during labor, drug testing mothers and
138	138	15 infants without informed consent, separating mothers from
139	139	16 their newborns, and criminalizing pregnancy outcomes such as
140	140	17 miscarriage; and
141	141	18 WHEREAS, Black women and birthing people experience
142	142	19 pervasive racial injustice in the criminal justice, social,
143	143	20 and health care systems; and
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154	154	1 WHEREAS, Justice-informed, culturally congruent models of
155	155	2 care are beneficial to Black women; and
156	156	3 WHEREAS, An investment must be made in maternity care for
157	157	4 Black women and birthing persons, including care led by the
158	158	5 communities most affected by the maternal health crisis in the
159	159	6 State of Illinois, continuous health insurance coverage to
160	160	7 support Black women and birthing persons for the full
161	161	8 postpartum period at least one year after giving birth, and
162	162	9 policies that support and promote affordable, comprehensive,
163	163	10 and holistic maternal health care that is free from gender and
164	164	11 racial discrimination, regardless of incarceration; therefore,
165	165	12 be it
166	166	13 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
167	167	14 HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
168	168	15 we declare April 11-17, 2025 as Black Maternal Health Week in
169	169	16 the State of Illinois; and be it further
170	170	17 RESOLVED, That we recognize that Black women are
171	171	18 experiencing high, disproportionate rates of maternal
172	172	19 mortality and morbidity in the State of Illinois; and be it
173	173	20 further
174	174	21 RESOLVED, That we recognize that the alarmingly high rates
175	175	22 of maternal mortality among Black women are unacceptable and
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186	186	1 unjust; and be it further
187	187	2 RESOLVED, In order to better mitigate the effects of
188	188	3 systemic and structural racism, the Black community must have
189	189	4 (1) safe and affordable housing, (2) transportation equity,
190	190	5 (3) nutritious food, (4) clean air and water, (5) environments
191	191	6 free from toxins, (6) decriminalization, removal of civil
192	192	7 penalties, end of surveillance, and end of mandatory reporting
193	193	8 within the criminal and family regulation system, (7) safety
194	194	9 and freedom from violence, (8) a living wage, (9) equal
195	195	10 economic opportunity, (10) a sustained and expansive workforce
196	196	11 pipeline for diverse perinatal professionals, and (11)
197	197	12 comprehensive, high-quality, and affordable health care,
198	198	13 including access to the full spectrum of reproductive care;
199	199	14 and be it further
200	200	15 RESOLVED, That in order to improve maternal health
201	201	16 outcomes, we must fully support and encourage policies
202	202	17 grounded in the human rights, reproductive justice, and birth
203	203	18 justice frameworks that address maternal health inequities;
204	204	19 and be it further
205	205	20 RESOLVED, That Black women and birthing persons must be
206	206	21 active participants in the policy decisions that impact their
207	207	22 lives; and be it further
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218	218	1 RESOLVED, That in order to ensure access to safe and
219	219	2 respectful maternal health care for Black birthing people, the
220	220	3 Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act and other legislation
221	221	4 rooted in human rights that seeks to improve maternal care and
222	222	5 outcomes must be passed; and be it further
223	223	6 RESOLVED, That Black Maternal Health Week is an
224	224	7 opportunity (1) to deepen the national conversation about
225	225	8 Black maternal health in the United States, (2) to amplify and
226	226	9 invest in community-driven policy, research, and quality care
227	227	10 solutions, (3) to center the voices of Black Mamas, women,
228	228	11 families, and stakeholders, (4) to provide a national platform
229	229	12 for Black-led entities and efforts on maternal and mental
230	230	13 health, birth equity, and reproductive justice, (5) to enhance
231	231	14 community organizing on Black maternal health, and (6) to
232	232	15 support efforts to increase funding and advance policies for
233	233	16 Black-led and centered community-based organizations and
234	234	17 perinatal birth workers that provide the full spectrum of
235	235	18 reproductive, maternal, and sexual healthcare.
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