Very powerful piece, Theresa, especially because of the pragmatic and factual economic nature of what you wrote. Having no prenatal care seems like an unacceptable option, and badgering potential Medicaid applicants in the hopes of uncovering someone's "hidden" income seems unnecessarily cruel. When I was practicing, the obstetrical patients I encountered came in all ethnicities and social situations, but I have been alarmed at the recent increase of terrible maternal outcomes reported among black women, regardless of their socioeconomic status. The cuts being discussed are ill-advised and certainly appear to give credence to a very mean and un-American streak in those politicians pushing hard for passage of the current proposed budget. Let's hope that articles such as yours help to give pause to such momentum, so that a more measured (and probably more challenging) dialogue ends up taking hold among our elected officials.
Amen, Lou! I appreciate you saying how alarmed you have been at the rise in maternal deaths among Black women. It's a health care emergency right in front of our eyes, and yet few people, especially those in power, are able to see it. I hope that articles like mine will show the scope of the proposed cuts. I think few Americans know how many pregnant women are on medicaid. Do we as a country really think it's OK for all those women to suffer? And for what? As always, thanks for writing.
Excellent article, Theresa, on such an important topic! (As you know, I wrote a piece on the same issue a few weeks ago, but without your very moving interview of two young mothers who would be affected by these cuts.)
I honestly don’t get what Republicans’ plan is. Are they just hoping that everything will work out for women and their babies who don’t have healthcare? Or are they secretly hoping to (in Scrooge’s words) decrease the surplus population?
Your column on this topic was awesome! I'm glad we are in synch Great minds think alike, clearly. (That's a joke y'all). Other commenters have suggested that, yes, Republicans do want to decrease the population of non-white women and poor women. Ugh. I'm not sure how conservative politicians in the US got so cruel. In the context of their supposed "pro-life" position, their behavior on Medicaid is finally revealing the hypocrisy. I hope people see that.
Ugh. Yes. See no evil etc. That's why I find it so important to keep telling the truth. The number of pregnant women who will be hurt by Medicaid cuts is unknown to many Americans and it's a big number. Let's all of us use truth to fight lies and injustice. They can be powerful weapons and good antidotes to feelings of helplessness. At least I hope so! Hugs!
Very powerful piece, Theresa, especially because of the pragmatic and factual economic nature of what you wrote. Having no prenatal care seems like an unacceptable option, and badgering potential Medicaid applicants in the hopes of uncovering someone's "hidden" income seems unnecessarily cruel. When I was practicing, the obstetrical patients I encountered came in all ethnicities and social situations, but I have been alarmed at the recent increase of terrible maternal outcomes reported among black women, regardless of their socioeconomic status. The cuts being discussed are ill-advised and certainly appear to give credence to a very mean and un-American streak in those politicians pushing hard for passage of the current proposed budget. Let's hope that articles such as yours help to give pause to such momentum, so that a more measured (and probably more challenging) dialogue ends up taking hold among our elected officials.
Amen, Lou! I appreciate you saying how alarmed you have been at the rise in maternal deaths among Black women. It's a health care emergency right in front of our eyes, and yet few people, especially those in power, are able to see it. I hope that articles like mine will show the scope of the proposed cuts. I think few Americans know how many pregnant women are on medicaid. Do we as a country really think it's OK for all those women to suffer? And for what? As always, thanks for writing.
Excellent article, Theresa, on such an important topic! (As you know, I wrote a piece on the same issue a few weeks ago, but without your very moving interview of two young mothers who would be affected by these cuts.)
I honestly don’t get what Republicans’ plan is. Are they just hoping that everything will work out for women and their babies who don’t have healthcare? Or are they secretly hoping to (in Scrooge’s words) decrease the surplus population?
Your column on this topic was awesome! I'm glad we are in synch Great minds think alike, clearly. (That's a joke y'all). Other commenters have suggested that, yes, Republicans do want to decrease the population of non-white women and poor women. Ugh. I'm not sure how conservative politicians in the US got so cruel. In the context of their supposed "pro-life" position, their behavior on Medicaid is finally revealing the hypocrisy. I hope people see that.
We (the Feds, as a nation) have already decided that one response to the increase in maternal mortality is to stop tracking it. Heinous.
Ugh. Yes. See no evil etc. That's why I find it so important to keep telling the truth. The number of pregnant women who will be hurt by Medicaid cuts is unknown to many Americans and it's a big number. Let's all of us use truth to fight lies and injustice. They can be powerful weapons and good antidotes to feelings of helplessness. At least I hope so! Hugs!