International

Maternal Mortality is a Violation ofWomen's Human Rightsb y K e r r y M c L e a n ' . . . , . . <

' ;. i.*

Ofthe 529,000 estimated maternal deaths each year, 251,000 of those

deaths occurred in Africa. In Asia, it is estimated that about 253,000

women die each year from pregnancy and childbirth related causes,

with 136,000 deaths occurring in India alone.

Most maternal deaths are preventable in simple and cost-effective ways.

The majority of maternal deaths are caused by infections, blood loss and

unsafe abortion, all of which can be managed by health workers with midwifery

skills. According to an article in the OECD Observer^ a publication by the

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, reducing maternal

mortality is not necessarily dependent on economic development. The article

argues that it would only cost about three dollars per person annually in

low-income countries to provide the essential services needed to tackle the

problem. Those three dollars would cover a skilled health worker to assist

every delivery; access to essential obstetric care for mothers and their infents

when complications atise; and family planning information and services so

that unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions can be avoided.

Last December I traveled to Brazil to tests; the doctors' failure to do a neces-do research concerning a maternal mor-tality case. The deceased woman, "AP,"was a woman of African descent. As arethe majority of Afro-Brazilians, she waspoor, and therefore relied on Brazil'spublic heaith system. As any well-offBrazilian will tell you, the public healthsystem is utilized by the poor. APreceived regular prenatal care at her localhospital. When AP was six-months preg-nant, she became very ill and soughttreatment at her local hospital, which has

emergency services. She was initially senthome without being tested, but wasadmitted when she returned two dayslater still feeling ill. Three days afrerbeing admitted, she died. Several fectorscontributed to AP's death, among themthe doctors' failure to administer routine

sary procedure, such failure eventuallycausing her to hemorrhage; the only hos-pital accessible to her lacking emergencyobstetric care services; having to wait forover eight hours for an ambulance totransfer her to a better equipped facility,while hemorrhaging and vomiting; andbeing placed in a makeshifr space in theemergency room hallway for 21 hours,while in a coma, because there were noavailable beds.

As recently as August 2005, theUnited Nations Development AssistanceFramework Common CountryAssessment for Brazil noted the highmaternal mortality rates and detrimentaldisparities in health care. Black, mulatto,indigenous, poor and single womenliving in the poorest regions of Brazil are

disproportionately impacted by maternalmortality.

Afro-descendants account for 62.4% ofthe country's poorest 10%. Poverty isconcentrated amongst black or Afro-descendant women. Women of Africandescent have less access to education,they have a lower social and economicstatus, and their housing and livingconditions are inferior to those of whitewomen.

Health care during pregnancy anddelivery varies substantially for black andwhite mothers. Women of Africandescent have less access to contraceptivemethods and have more pregnanciesthan white women. Dortors are lesslikely to perform breast and gynecologi-cal exams, and are less likely to prescribevitamins during prenatal care for blackmothers than for white mothers. Thereare higher mortality rates among blackwomen, in all age groups. In the state ofParana, 8 2% of all maternal deaths areblack, although they only represent 2.2%of the population. This means a blackwoman has a seven times higher tisk ofdying due to maternal causes than otherwomen.

Maternal mortality is a human rightsissue. It is a violation of women's humanrights to life, health and equality. Manypeople accept maternal death as a naturalpart of childbearing, rather than apreventable loss of Ufe and the tragicresult of policy decisions that neglectwomen. A few of the key human rightsimplicated in cases of maternal mortalityare: the right to life and survival, theright to health, and the right to equalityand nondiscrimination. The right to lifeis implicated, because governments havea duty to adopt positive measures to

18 • GUILD NOTES • SUMMER/FALL 2007

International

prevent death where death ispreventable. The right to health isimplicated because governments havean obligation to ensure access to qualityhealth care. The right to equalityand nondiscrimination is implicatedbecause maternal mortality is a type ofindirect discrimination. Only womenare affected by maternal mortality, andits prevalence is indicative of disparityand inequity between men and women.Its extent is a sign of women's place inS(Kiety and their lack of access to socialand health services, and to economicopportunities.

When I went in Brazil I met AP'smother, who lost a daughter. I metAP's eight-year-old daughter, whowould now have to grow up withouta mother. I wrote this article for them,for AP, and for the hundreds of thou-sands of women that continue to dieevery year because they are poor andare women of color^ and their govern-ments think that their lives aren't worthprotecting. •

Kerry McLean is the co-chair of theAnti-Sexism Committee.

MAP Conspiracy Case Continues

NLG Attorneys Andrea Costello and Natalie Maxwell {pictured speaking into mega-phone) currently represent feminist activists with the group Morning-After PillConspiracy (MAP) in a federal lawsuit to challenge the Food and Drug Administration'sfailure to provide unrestricted over-the-counter access to the pills {Anriie Tummino. etal. V. Andrew/ von Eschenbach). The NLG Mass Defense Gommittee assisted the groupin January 2005 when activists sat-in at the FDA's headquarters to protest the agency'sblodcing women's access to the pills. Above photo is of MAP Conspiracy members hold-ing a speak-out and civil disobedience action at the April 2004 March for Women's Livesin Washington, D.C. and distributing the pills to women who need them in defiance ofthe FDA's prescription requirement. Photo taken by plaintiff/ activist Jenny Brown. Formore information about the lawsuit, campaign and how to take action for women'srights, visit: v/ww.mapconspiracy.org

The National Office still has the famousGreen Hats for legal observers availableHats are union made (UNITE!), union irrphnted (UFCW) and state in big bold

black Letters: National Lawyers Guild LEGAL OBSERVER on the front. Hats are

$7 each (the same cost we paid plus postage). They are available from the

National Office to be given out to trained legal observers only.

Send a check or money order, number of

hats requested, and shipping address to:

National Lawyers Guild, 132 Nassau Street,

Rm. 922, New York, NY 10038

Or order by mail by contacting:

nlgno@nlg.org

SUMMER/FALL 2007 • GUILD NOTES • 19