Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana has found himself in the crosshairs of a public backlash after comments made while discussing his state’s maternal mortality rate.
Cassidy was speaking with Politico for a series called “Public Health on the Brink.”
“About a third of our population is African American; African Americans have a higher incidence of maternal mortality. So, if you correct our population for race, we’re not as much of an outlier as it’d otherwise appear,” Cassidy said. “Now, I say that not to minimize the issue but to focus the issue as to where it would be. For whatever reason, people of color have a higher incidence of maternal mortality.”
Louisiana’s maternal mortality rate ranks as the worst in the nation at about 58.1 deaths for every 100,000 live births, according to World Population Review. The national average for states is just 17.4.
Since participating in the interview on May 19, Cassidy’s quote has reverberated across the country and has drawn considerable negative attention. His response was to say he was misquoted, adding that “fake news and false outrage hurt our ability to make progress.”
“1/6 Individuals are cutting off & misquoting my statements highlighting minority health disparities to create a malicious & fake narrative. My entire conversation was about my work to address racial bias in healthcare & address high maternal mortality among African American moms,” Cassidy tweeted.
The senator, who is also a medical doctor, added that he has endeavored to push bills through the senate that target leveling the racial disparity in the healthcare system, including the John Lewis National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Research Endowment Revitalization Act of 2021.
Related
