The League of Women Voters of Virginia supports HB1403 which would result in improved collection, analysis and accessibility of data related to maternal mortality and morbidity. This systematic collection of data includes demographic and regional factors that will allow for better understanding of the vast disparity of health outcomes for Black mothers and those who reside in counties considered to be health deserts. Data collection and analysis can be expected to lead to improved health outcomes for Virginians and provide greater understanding for the public and health care providers. Please support HB 1403.

HB1403 [same topic, comments as HB1398]: This bill has 13 pages of exclusions and then two pages about what will supposedly be tracked. This indicates to me that a far better use of taxpayer money to track fetal, maternal, and infant mortality would be to look at existing records rather than adding yet more administrative state. Also, a glaring omission is abortion, which does cause both fetal and maternal death and should be included in all such data reviews.