SLS 23RS-2808 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 192
BY SENATOR JACKSON
LEGIS POWERS/FUNCTIONS. Creates the Task Force on Maternal Health.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To create and provide for the Task Force on Maternal Health to study how to improve
3 maternal health outcomes for women, ways to reduce maternal death rates and
4 preterm birth rates, particularly among black women and children, and specific laws
5 that may need to be amended to provide greater protections to pregnant mothers and
6 their children, and report findings to the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana no
7 later than February 15, 2024.
8 WHEREAS, the wonders of pregnancy and childbirth can be the beginning joys of
9 motherhood for many that leads to a lifetime of happiness and fulfillment; and
10 WHEREAS, some women, however, may experience avoidable pregnancy and
11 childbirth difficulties with short-term, long-term, and dangerous complications that may
12 even result in death; and
13 WHEREAS, Louisiana has one of the highest incidences of maternal mortality and
14 preterm births in the nation; and
15 WHEREAS, according to a study conducted in 2020 by the United States Centers for
16 Disease Control and Prevention, black women are more likely than white women to
17 experience preventable maternal death and the maternal mortality rate for black women was
18 more than fifty-five deaths per one hundred thousand live births; and
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1 WHEREAS, Louisiana's maternal mortality rates are four times higher for black
2 women, with fifty-nine percent of black maternal deaths deemed preventable while nine
3 percent of white maternal deaths were deemed preventable; and
4 WHEREAS, the maternal death rates and preterm birth rates, particularly among
5 black woman and children, are an important public health issues in Louisiana that requires
6 further study; and
7 WHEREAS, for generations Louisiana law and the Louisiana Supreme Court have
8 recognized the personhood of an unborn child with respect to inheritance rights in
9 successions, criminal laws that protect unborn children in cases of feticide, public health
10 code, and filiation cases that protect the unborn child's parental rights; and
11 WHEREAS, Louisiana and several other states have either filed legislative
12 instruments or amended their tax codes to afford equal tax treatment to pregnant women with
13 unborn children that exists for all mother's with dependent minor children after live
14 birth; and
15 WHEREAS, the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana finds that more study is
16 needed to research the current provisions of law that may need to be amended to afford
17 women and their unborn children with greater protections and chances of survival after birth.
18 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does
19 hereby establish and provide for the Task Force on Maternal Health to study how to improve
20 maternal outcomes for women, ways to reduce the maternal death rates and preterm birth
21 rates, particularly among black women and children, and specific laws that may need to be
22 amended to provide greater protections to pregnant mothers and their unborn and preterm
23 children, and submit a written report of its findings, together with specific proposals for
24 legislation to the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana and to the David R. Poynter
25 Legislative Research Library as required by R.S. 24:771 and 772, no later than February 15,
26 2024.
27 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall consist of the following
28 members:
29 (1) The senator for Senate District 34 who shall serve as chairman of the task force.
30 (2) The chair of the Senate Select Committee on Women and Children.
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1 (3) The secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health or his designee.
2 (4) The executive director of the Louisiana Right to Life or his designee.
3 (5) The executive director of Louisiana Black Advocates for Life or his designee.
4 (6) A family court judge appointed by the president of the Louisiana Council of
5 Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
6 (7) The president of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance or his designee.
7 (8) The secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue or his designee.
8 (9) The secretary of the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services or
9 his designee.
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each designating authority shall submit the
11 names of designees to the task force to the senator for Senate District 34 no later than
12 August 1, 2023.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the executive director of the Senate Legislative
14 Services shall assign staff support to the task force.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the task force shall convene for its first meeting no
16 later than August 31, 2023, at the call of the senator for Senate District 34, and at the first
17 meeting, the members shall elect other officers as the task force may deem appropriate.
18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a majority of the task force shall constitute a
19 quorum for the transaction of business and all official actions of the task force shall require
20 the affirmative vote of a majority of the members.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the task force shall serve
22 without compensation, except per diem or expenses reimbursement to which they may be
23 individually entitled as members of their constituent organizations.
24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall terminate on the date of the
25 submission of its report or February 15, 2024, whichever occurs first.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
27 senator for Senate District 34, the chair of the Senate Select Committee on Women and
28 Children, the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, the executive director of the
29 Louisiana Right to Life, the executive director of Louisiana Black Advocates for Life, the
30 Louisiana Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the president of the Black Mamas
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1 Matter Alliance, the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue, and the secretary
2 of the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Carla S. Roberts.
DIGEST
SR 192 Original 2023 Regular Session Jackson
Creates the Task Force on Maternal Health to study how to improve maternal outcomes for
women, ways to reduce maternal death rates and preterm birth rates, particularly among
black children, and specific laws that may need to be updated to provide greater protections
to pregnant mothers and their unborn and preterm children.
Provides that the task force consists of the senator from Senate District 34, who shall serve
as chairman, and representatives from the Senate Select Committee on Women and Children,
the La. Dept. of Health, the La. Right to Life, the La. Black Advocates for Life, the
Louisiana Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the Black Mamas Matter Alliance,
the La. Dept. of Revenue, and the La. Dept. of Children and Family Services.
Requires a written report be submitted to the senate and provides that the task force shall
terminate upon submission of the report or February 15, 2024, whichever occurs first.
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