The sprinter Tori Bowie's labor death is a call to action

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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Tennis phenomenon Serena Williams and pop music icon Beyonce both developed life-threatening pregnancy complications. They survived but, sadly, another Black superstar did not.

Tori Bowie, a 100-meter dash world champion and three-time Olympic medalist, died in early May while in labor. Bowie was just 32 years old, and eight months pregnant when she was found dead in a Florida home.

She was still an elite athlete, which makes her death all the more shocking. How can someone in the prime of life, with the resources to access top medical care, die in childbirth in this day and age?

The autopsy report sheds little light, stating that Bowie was otherwise in good health. It cites natural causes, with possible complications from respiratory distress and eclampsia, as the cause of death. Toxicology tests were negative.

But grim public health statistics do provide tragic context in the wake of Bowie's passing. The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income nations, and the crisis is especially severe for Black women.

In 2021, the most recent year for which data is available, "1,205 women died of maternal causes in the United States compared with 861 in 2020 and and 754 in in 2019," according to a National Center for Health Statistics report.

The U.S. maternal mortality rate for Black women that year was 69.9 per 100,000 live births. That's more than twice the rate for white women (26.6) and for Hispanic women (28.0). The rate for all women was 32.9, up from 17.4 in 2018.

While state and federal lawmakers have taken note, clearly there's much more to do to close this appalling racial health gap and save mothers' lives. These are largely preventable deaths. Yet deaths are increasing year over year.

"We are actually going in the wrong direction," said Rep. Ruth Richardson, DFL-Mendota Heights, who has been a maternal health champion in the Minnesota House. Richardson is also CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as one that occurs during pregnancy or within 42 days of a pregnancy termination, excluding accidental or incidental deaths. "About 287,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2020," according to the organization's most recent global death report. That came to almost 800 lives lost daily in 2020.

WHO reports that major complications account for almost 75% of maternal deaths. These include severe bleeding, infection, high blood pressure during pregnancy, delivery complications and unsafe abortions. Again, these are largely treatable or preventable, which data from other countries makes clear.

The Netherlands had 1.2 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to a Commonwealth Fund analysis of 2020 data. Japan had 2.7 and Germany 3.6. The United Kingdom had 6.5 while Sweden and Switzerland had 7. The American metric for that year: 23.8. For Black moms in the United States that year, it was 55.3.

Measures to address this crisis have been introduced in Congress and some enacted. Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat, collaborated with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on the Rural Maternal and Obstetric Modernization of Services Act, which was signed into law in 2022. The legislation provides grants for health provider training and to establish regional innovation networks.

But more sweeping legislation aimed directly at the racial maternal health gap lacks sufficient momentum. The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act is made up of more than a dozen bills championed by the Congressional Black Maternal Health Caucus. It would invest over $1 billion to strengthen the medical workforce and improve data collection to better understand the root causes of pregnancy and postpartum risks. It would also bolster food assistance for new moms and strengthen funding for community organizations combating maternal health disparities.

The legislation has the backing of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Nursing and more than 200 other groups. Bowie's untimely death should spur teamwork from U.S. lawmakers. It's alarming that the House version currently has 187 co-sponsors but none are Republicans. The Senate version also lacks GOP co-sponsors.

There's work to do in Minnesota as well. The latest state data is from 2017-2018. While the rate of pregnancy-related deaths here is about half the national average for that time, Black and American Indian women represent a disproportionate percentage of pregnancy-associated deaths. That's unacceptable.

Bowie's untimely death is a reminder that childbirth, while considered routine, still carries substantial risks. That's especially true for women of color, even for those with fame and means.

Said Richardson: "As Black women, we can't educate our way out of this crisis. We cannot earn our way out of this crisis. It's important that people recognize that reality."