Posted inHealth, Reproductive Health

80% of Black Women Experience Fibroids. Does Racial Trauma Play a Role?

This story was produced in partnership with Vox as part of the discrimination issue of The Highlight. Comedian Dulcé Sloan took to Twitter recently with a burning health question: “Soooo EVERY black woman has fibroids,” she wrote, injecting a bit of hyperbole, “and no one knows why?!”  The tweet sparked a flurry of responses theorizing why 80% of […]

Posted inHealth, Reproductive Health

How Florida Restricting Abortion Access Affects Black People in the South

Florida’s law prohibiting most abortions statewide after six weeks has ignited fear among those who say the ban could have catastrophic — and potentially life-threatening — impacts on Black women’s health.  Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned 1973’s Roe v. Wade decision last summer, access to abortion in the South has become increasingly limited. It’s […]

Posted inHealth, Reproductive Health

How Overturning Abortion Rights Affects Black Women

This story has been updated. In a historic reversal, the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, a decision that will limit abortion access in many states and potentially exacerbate racial disparities in maternal health. The impacts will fall disproportionately on Black people, who receive about a third of abortions nationwide. The opinion, released […]

Posted inHealth, Reproductive Health

The Fight Over Abortion Rights Is a Black Issue

Maternal health care advocates raised alarm Tuesday after a leaked U.S. Supreme Court opinion suggested that the nation’s highest court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, a decision that would limit abortion access nationwide and could exacerbate racial disparities in births. Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed the authenticity of the leaked opinion, published Monday […]

Posted inHealth, Reproductive Health

The Reading List: Maternal and Reproductive Health in America

As racial disparities in maternal health complications rise and unequal access to comprehensive care continues, American women face potentially life-threatening health outcomes — and the outlook is particularly frightening for Black women. They are three times more likely to die due to pregnancy related causes than white women. In the United States, Black maternal mortality […]