Senate committee to vote on bill tackling maternal death rates next week

The Senate Health Committee will vote next week on a bill aimed at cutting maternal mortality rates in the U.S. 

Sponsored by Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), the bill would support state-level efforts to form review committees that specifically track and investigate pregnancy-related deaths and then look for ways to prevent future deaths from occurring. 

{mosads}For every 100,000 live births in America, 26.4 women experience pregnancy-related deaths, according to a study published in The Lancet, a general medical journal. 

There is also a racial disparity, with black women four times as likely to die from pregnancy than white women. 

On average, among developed countries, there are 12 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the World Health Organization. 

But these deaths still aren’t widely tracked across the U.S.; the legislation would standardize current state efforts to do so and help states that don’t have committees create them. 

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), who sponsored the House’s version of the bill, said she has a commitment from leadership for a vote before August. 

“I think there’s legislation moving in the Senate, so this stands an awesome chance of being signed into law,” she told The Hill Tuesday.