ORANGE BEACH — U.S. Sens. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) are coming together from opposite sides of the aisle for the NIH (National Institutes of Health) Act.
The act would authorize $73.4 million annually for an NIH program for the next seven years. The program supports research to reduce preventable causes of maternal deaths and improve health care for women before, during and after pregnancy.
"This makes sure that we have the necessary research and funding for getting to the bottom of why our maternal mortality rates continue to move in the wrong direction," Britt said. "Many people in Alabama know that our maternal mortality rates are up at the top or either number one, two or three, kind of depending on the year. It disproportionately affects black women, it affects Native American women, but it affects all women from coast to coast."
Over a third of Alabama counties are classified as "maternity care deserts," and the state has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation.
Britt is also a co-sponsor of the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act, which would expand access to maternal care by supporting rural health care facilities and doctors in providing urgent obstetric care. She has reintroduced the Access to Breast Cancer Diagnosis (ABCD) to eliminate copays and other out-of-pocket expenses for breast cancer diagnostic tests.
"Whether it's the Moms Act that I've introduced to make sure that pregnant women are supported throughout that journey, knowing that bringing life into the world is one of the greatest joys that you can possibly have, I have tried to make sure that we're supporting that mom and that child in those journeys from start to finish," Britt told 1819 News.
Britt said it is also a priority for her to make it easier for families to adopt children while ensuring children are being placed in safe environments.
"There are so many families that want to adopt, that want to be a part of that solution and have their forever family in that way, and we want to make sure that that process for them is safe, secure, and streamlined," she said. "We want to know that people that are in the business are good actors, that they can be trusted, that these children and that these expected mothers and these future families and homes are safe all the way around."
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