| 1 | 1 | | 86R4477 BK-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Thierry H.C.R. No. 18 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Maternal health is a vital concern to any society |
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| 7 | 7 | | with an interest in the present and future well-being of women, |
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| 8 | 8 | | children, and families, and Maternal Health Month in August serves |
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| 9 | 9 | | as a time to call attention to and mobilize action to address |
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| 10 | 10 | | maternal health disparities and inequities; and |
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| 11 | 11 | | WHEREAS, Defined by the World Health Organization as the |
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| 12 | 12 | | health of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum |
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| 13 | 13 | | period, maternal health is a human rights issue with serious and |
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| 14 | 14 | | far-reaching implications for every individual, community, and |
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| 15 | 15 | | country; and |
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| 16 | 16 | | WHEREAS, The United States has the highest rate of maternal |
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| 17 | 17 | | mortality among all developed nations, and that rate is continuing |
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| 18 | 18 | | to rise, even as the rest of the developed world is seeing fewer and |
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| 19 | 19 | | fewer deaths from pregnancy-related complications; several factors |
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| 20 | 20 | | have been cited as contributing to the heightened risk of death for |
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| 21 | 21 | | American mothers, including inadequate state and federal funding |
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| 22 | 22 | | for maternal health as well as inefficient hospital protocols for |
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| 23 | 23 | | dealing with maternal emergencies; and |
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| 24 | 24 | | WHEREAS, Black women in the U.S. are more likely to suffer |
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| 25 | 25 | | from severe maternal morbidity than any other demographic group; |
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| 26 | 26 | | according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, |
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| 27 | 27 | | African American mothers die at three to four times the rate of |
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| 28 | 28 | | white mothers, and this extreme disparity in maternal mortality |
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| 29 | 29 | | holds true across all income and education levels; and |
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| 30 | 30 | | WHEREAS, The fair distribution of resources, especially with |
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| 31 | 31 | | regard to reproductive health care services and maternal health |
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| 32 | 32 | | programming, is critical to closing the racial gap in maternal |
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| 33 | 33 | | health outcomes; a greater investment must be made in women's |
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| 34 | 34 | | maternity care and in policies that support and promote affordable, |
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| 35 | 35 | | comprehensive, holistic, and equitable maternal health care; and |
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| 36 | 36 | | WHEREAS, By spreading awareness of this crucial issue, health |
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| 37 | 37 | | professionals and concerned Texans alike are working to make |
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| 38 | 38 | | maternal health a more urgent priority for our state, to bring an |
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| 39 | 39 | | end to preventable maternal mortality, and to ensure a higher |
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| 40 | 40 | | standard of care for Texas mothers; now, therefore, be it |
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| 41 | 41 | | RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 42 | 42 | | hereby designate August as Maternal Health Month; and, be it |
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| 43 | 43 | | further |
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| 44 | 44 | | RESOLVED, That in accordance with the provisions of Section |
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| 45 | 45 | | 391.004(d), Government Code, this designation remain in effect |
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| 46 | 46 | | until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is finally |
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| 47 | 47 | | passed by the legislature. |
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