Race and Ethnicity Commons^™

“Disbelieving Black Women To Death”; The “Double Jeopardy”: Racism And Sexism Affects Black Women’S Access To And Quality Of Care During Pregnancy, Birth, And Postpartum, Madeline St. Clair

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This paper explores possible reasons why Black women in the United States experience a higher maternal mortality rate than their white counterparts. Using books, articles, journals, documentaries, personal experiences and stories of Black women and mothers, I argue that barriers from the societal to the individual level create health and medical disparities for Black mothers in pregnancy, during delivery, and the postpartum period. The paper concludes with a multifaceted solution and call to action.

The Right To Vote, The Right To Health: Voter Suppression As A Determinant Of Racial Health Disparities, Anna K. Hing

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Civic participation is beneficial to one’s health. Conversely, being unable to participate, such as being unable to vote, may be detrimental for health. Barriers that prevent voting and civic participation, which constitute voter suppression, disproportionately impact people of color. Therefore, voter suppression may explain intractable racial health disparities. However, few studies have examined the connection between voter suppression and health. In consideration of the frequent, and increasing, reports of voter suppression in recent elections, including the rise in voter identification laws, the reduction in early voting opportunities, and the closing of polling places, the field of public health should address …

Reproductive Justice Disrupted: Mass Incarceration As A Driver Of Reproductive Oppression, Crystal M. Hayes, Carolyn B. Sufrin, Jamila B. Perritt

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

We describe how mass incarceration directly undermines the core values of reproductive justice and how this affects incarcerated and nonincarcerated women.

Mass incarceration, by its very nature, compromises and undermines bodily autonomy and the capacity for incarcerated people to make decisions about their reproductive well being and bodies; this is done through institutionalized racism and is disproportionately done to the bodies of women of color. This violates the most basic tenets of reproductive justice—the right to have a child, not to have a child, and to parent the children you have with dignity and in safety.

By undermining motherhood and …