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Who Speaks?
By lindamuralidharan on 2019-06-21 05:51:36
Who speaks for the dead we don't even notice? Who speaks for the soon to be dead? I am part of a group of women who
believe avoiding war is our highest good. We actively work for peace even if it comes "piece" meal. This set of blogs is
labeled "Women Waging Peace" because we believe in action not just words. Thus we march, lobby officials and do
research to support our beliefs and concerns. And yet, readers may notice I write on a number of issues that do not mention
the word "war" or "imperial aggression" or "illegal wars", etc. I truly believe that aggression takes place in a context. Many
believe that the rise of fascism in Germany prior to WWII was largely fueled by the humiliation and economic
disadvantages placed on Germany by the allies who had won WWI but apparently lost the peace. I don't know for sure but it
looks to me like contented populations are less vulnerable to the exhortations of war mongering demagogues. We notice that
countries like Sweden and Denmark and the Netherlands were once imperial nations with colonies abroad. And today they
seem amongst the most unwarlike nations. Also we know that surveys indicate folks in these areas tend to express the most
happiness and contentment in their daily lives while the US does not fare so well and, in fact, polls register a whole lot of
stress. The more peaceful countries just mentioned also provide a comfortable life for all the citizens although everybody is
not rich and if you want to go beyond the basic comforts of life, these countries are hospitable to moderated capitalism. In
our country that is so prone to war (hard to determine if we are just a violent people because we praise so much the violent
revolution that founded our country), we have both some wide swaths of prosperity and some tremendous unsolved
problems. Certain elements in our country over and over again trash programs that would help poorer and marginalized
workers gain housing, food, income and work security. They even make it harder for middle class people to manage their
budgets without building up debt. We all know now about the stress of income inequality that in many ways has come about
by taking money from the masses and adding to the coffers of the already very wealthy. We have limited early child hood
education, a privatized health care system that is more expensive and less effective in outcome than that of other modern
industrialized countries, we have an ongoing problem of both personal and institutionalized racial bias with serious social
consequences, and we have violence that is terrorist in nature as some people commit mass shootings with some form of a
hate crime motivation. Too many others shoot as an expression of their personal, anger, frustrations and sense of
powerlessness because the modern proliferation of guns has made that what to them is the best alternative. I could go on
and on. This time I want to address a growing problem related to the deaths of women. Women in any class are somewhat
affected but one more time low income people suffer the greatest losses and women of color are overrepresented in any low
income statistics. In this day and age of medical miracles an increasing number of women are dying while in one or the
other state of giving birth. The fatal losses occur during the months of pregnancy, during the act of birthing a child, and in
the post partum months up to a year out from the birth of a child. Yes, you read right. Deaths of women who are or have
recently been pregnant is on the rise. In the United States. [caption id="attachment_12741" align="alignleft" width="280"]
: ©. Hopefully a black family who has a long life span[/caption] For periods of time
in the modern age we could cite improved numbers with infant mortality rates declining and life expectancy for many
groups in America increasing. However, the trends for infant mortality and pregnancy related mortality are no longer
something to be proud of. "An American mom today is 50% more likely to die in childbirth than her own mother was,"
according to Harvard medical school obstetrician Dr. Neel Shah. He is quoted in an AP article by Mike Stubbe and Marilyn
Marchione. They also quote both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention as designating black Americans, Native Americans and Native Alaskans as overrepresented in the
statistics of women dying in connection with childbirth. In fact the College of O. and G. states that being black is the single
most salient risk factor for death from getting pregnant. It is also claimed that at least half of this increase in mortality is
preventable. Some researchers believe one major challenge is the failure of so many women to get the recommended
comprehensive heart risk exam 12 weeks after delivery. It is suspected that budget concerns keep many women from this
critical follow up appointment. We do a pretty good job these days of countering excessive bleeding and infections that used
to take the lives of many women but we don't monitor and prevent conditions related to the great physical stress pregnancy
imposes on women's bodies. Aside from the financial factors, the disproportionate deaths in the black female population is
considered related to biases in the system and the fact that doctors tend to overlook risk factors such as high blood pressure
among their black patients as compared to how seriously they take symptoms in white women. World wide, maternal
fatality rates have continued to fall for about the last 3 decades whereas the rate is rising in the US. Who will speak for
these dead women and ones who may be at risk in the next few years? [caption id="attachment_ 12742" align="alignleft"
width="474"] A white family who hopefullly has a
long life ahead[/caption] There is a shibboleth in our culture that says a society is judged by how they treat the least of
these. However, these women are not "least". In all the groups, not just in the black groups, these are specific, valued
individual human beings. Some leave motherless children behind when they die, some have been college graduates. Who
will speak for these individual human lives? I mentioned above those who seem to take delight in denying others better lives
and opportunities or even life itself. We have for example the various groups and politicians who want to stop abortions
supposedly to save "lives", even though it is a narrow religious interpretation of certain sects that can say a zygote is a
separate human life. These groups want to ban abortions and are right now able to deny many women that choice and they
want to deny women affordable and easily accessible birth control options. All that in the face of the fact that Colorado
provided free or low cost birth control to low income people and the result was a significant reduction in the number of
unwanted pregnancies and abortions. Women will die in the future because some would have had an abortion before their
pregnancy killed them. But others denied them a possibly life saving choice. Women will die because birth control is
discouraged. Of course hypocrisy is not a modern phenomenon. [caption id="attachment_ 12743" align="alignright"
width="280"] 3 _ ANative American family hopefully having a long life ahead of
them[/caption] Who will speak for these women alive and dead and expand Medicaid so people can get the post partum
exams they need without fear of financial stress and/or debt? Who will speak for these women so that doctors can be better
trained to look for warning signs of trouble in women before during and after the birth of a child? Who will cut military
spending so communities can be better educated to the need for better monitoring of new mothers and to provide culturally
sensitive training to medical personnel? Yes, we are back to the interconnectedness of how we serve our citizens and how
likely our citizens are to resist war mongering. Reduce stress in families and others and they will be less likely to act out
fear and hatred stirred up by unscrupulous groups and politicians. Reduce stress in families and others so they can take time
to study issues of war and peace in a little more depth. Reduce stress and improve the quality of health and daily life of our
citizens so they will be less likely to look for scapegoats for their worries and troubles. Even though the actual number of
maternal deaths yearly is small compared to our huge population, just the shame of it affects the quality of our lives as a
country and society. And if it were your sister? your spouse? your daughter? Would it then seem a minor matter? Who will
speak effectively to reverse this trend?
