On November 10, Kiara Manuel went to a Texas hospital in active labor. She and her mother were forced to fill out paperwork while she waited to be admitted. By that time, complications with the delivery had set in. A week later, it happened again.
On November 16, Mercedes Wells was turned away from an Indiana hospital despite being in active labor. Wells’ husband delivered their child in their car. The doctor and nurse who sent her home were fired.
It’s estimated that 50,000 women have pregnancy complications in the U.S. annually. Black women are at least three times more likely to die as a result of these complications than white women.
In the 1600s, enslaved Black women were forced to work through their pregnancies and return to work soon after giving birth. Maternal and infant mortality rates were high. This kind of medical neglect needs to end.
Hospitals that practice medical neglect must be held to account, but it is even more important for hospitals to give Black women the medical attention they deserve.