Advocates call bill a ‘first step’ to address racial disparities impacting marginalized women
By MAGGIE DOUGHERTY
Medill Illinois News Bureau
news@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD — The Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that adds new anti-bias education requirements for providers of maternal health services.
The measure is aimed at combating maternal mortality in marginalized groups. If signed into law, it would mandate providers receive one hour of training prior to renewing a state license, starting in July 2026. The Senate passed the bill on a 44-12 vote, following its passage 82-29 in the House in April. It needs only a signature from Gov. JB Pritzker to become law.
The training required by House Bill 2517 would educate providers on historic racial discrepancies in maternal care in an effort to reduce implicit biases among providers. Health care professionals would be allowed to count completion of the course toward minimum continuing education requirements.
“As a country, the United States is the most dangerous place to give birth in the developed world, and it’s three times as dangerous for Black people,” said Kelly Hubbard, director of policy and advocacy at EverThrive Illinois, where she works to advocate for optimal maternal health policies. That statistic comes from the Illinois Department of Public Health’s 2023 Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Report.
Compared to white women in America who died at a rate of 14.5 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023, Black women died at a rate of 50.3 out of 100,000 live births, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kimberly Collier, president of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Chicago Metropolitan Chapter, compared this level of mortality to the Middle Ages, when women had significantly higher maternal mortality rates.
“Childbirth killed women,” Collier said. “We’re not living in that world. But Black women are.”
Marianne Gray, a registered nurse who has a doctorate in education, came to Springfield to support the bill through its passage in the Senate Licensed Activities Committee earlier this month. She said part of the problem is that caregivers often do not listen to the health concerns of Black women.
“The moms need to be heard, and if a mom tells you, ‘I don’t feel well,’ or ‘something’s wrong,’ you can’t shrug that mom off and not listen to them,” Gray said. “And that happens.”
Gray spoke from her firsthand experience as a Black mother, recounting how during the birth of her first son, her providers did not listen when she said she felt the baby pushing. The baby came earlier than providers expected, resulting in her husband missing the birth of their first son.
The proposed law would mandate that health care professionals working on maternal health services and seeking to renew their license through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation take one hour of training in implicit bias awareness prior to renewal. The training for prenatal and postnatal care providers should include information about potential risk factors for childbearing individuals in marginalized racial or ethnic groups with higher maternal mortality rates.
Part of the issue, advocates say, is the historical misconception within the medical field that Black people have a higher pain threshold or do not feel pain as acutely as others.
One example of such medical racism is that of J. Marion Sims, often called the “father of modern gynecology,” who conducted painful experimental surgeries on enslaved Black women without anesthesia.
“There is a mistrust,” Gray said, referencing the history of unethical medical testing on Black people. “A lot of times people in underserved communities, they don’t trust health care providers who don’t look like them.”
Rep. Lisa Davis, D-Chicago, introduced the bill in the House. Like Gray, Davis spoke from her own experience as a Black mother.
“When it comes to Black moms, sometimes those generalizations and attitudes can possibly have lethal consequences,” Davis said. “If a Black mom is complaining about pain, that could be ignored, and maybe something is going on with the baby.”
While pregnant with her first son, Davis was past due to deliver. She did not want to induce birth, but rather to let him arrive naturally, she said. She developed a plan with her primary OB-GYN provider, a Black woman who respected her wishes not to induce.
In a follow-up visit, Davis said her usual prenatal provider was unavailable, so she saw someone else, a white woman. Davis felt this woman to be less sensitive of her wishes, telling Davis she should schedule an induction.
Then, Davis said, the provider checked her cervix in a rough manner that caused Davis pain. When Davis expressed her discomfort, the woman told her the pain was common. After the visit, Davis realized her water had broken. She went to the hospital, where they kept her until she gave birth the next day.
Whether or not it was the outcome the provider intended, Davis said the interaction left her wondering if her race was the reason the provider seemed not to be attentive or listen to her concerns.
Lauren Sayah, a senior research specialist at the University of Illinois Chicago Center for Research on Women and Gender, said she hopes the training will make providers more aware of their own biases.
“Having health care providers learn about those biases and misconceptions will likely help them hopefully see their patients first as human,” Sayah said.
Sayah added that the training will help educate providers on the other social factors affecting maternal health outcomes for people of color. Access to healthy neighborhoods, green spaces, healthy food and affordable housing are all important aspects of “culturally competent health care,” Sayah said.
The measure passed the House with bipartisan support despite opposition from most of the Republican caucus. Senate sponsor Willie Preston, D-Chicago, said he believes the bill will make a difference in the experiences of mothers.
“Black women in Illinois are three times more likely to die from pregnancy related causes than white women. This is simply not acceptable, and it’s not a mystery,” Preston said Wednesday during Senate floor debate. “It’s about how people are treated, who gets listened to and whether their pain is believed. This bill doesn’t ask for a heavy lift. It asks for awareness. It asks for education.”
Under the measure, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation will be responsible for developing the curriculum, but Sayah said she hoped the department would consult with community members when designing the training materials, which she said “adds value and is necessary in the influence of their care.”
Collier said the National Coalition of 100 Black Women is “ready to help with implementation” if the department is interested in partnering on curriculum development.
Although advocates said this bill is not a silver bullet that will fix the racial disparity in maternal health outcomes, many said it was a step forward that brought them hope.
“The war is not over, but this battle has been won,” Collier said. “And I think it is okay for us to be excited, be happy, to check it off and to celebrate the wins, because we have a long fight ahead of us.”
Maggie Dougherty is a graduate student in journalism with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and a fellow in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois.
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