Philanthropist Melinda French Gates has renewed calls for sweeping reforms in women’s health care after highlighting Alabama’s high rate of pregnancy-related deaths as evidence that many women remain underserved by the healthcare system.
Writing after a visit to a community health clinic in Tuscaloosa, Gates said Alabama records one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the United States. She recounted the story of Asia, a Black mother who feared she would not survive childbirth because of her previous experience with inadequate maternity care.
Gates noted that Black women in the U.S. are nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, describing the disparity as a reflection of systemic failures in maternal health care.
She argued that women are too often ignored in medical research and treatment, pointing out that only five cents of every dollar spent globally on medical research and development goes to women’s health.
The Pivotal founder pledged continued support for improved maternal and reproductive healthcare, expanded access to contraceptives, better mental health services for mothers, increased funding for research into diseases affecting women, and enhanced menopause care.
“No woman should have to fear for her life simply because she is pregnant,” Gates said, insisting that listening to women and investing in their health would strengthen families, communities and economies alike.
