LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Representative Vikki Goodwin is the democratic nominee for Texas lieutenant governor in the November midterm election.
One of her main concerns is getting a new maternal health report out.
“The goal is for us to use that report to create laws, so that if we learn why women are dying in childbirth, we can propose policy that will help them.,” Goodwin said. “Without the statistics and without the stories, it’s hard for us to know what we need to change in order to save lives.”
State Representative Vikki Goodwin is the democratic nominee for Texas lieutenant governor in the November midterm election.(KCBD Video)
This next joint report from the Department of State Health Services and Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee will cover pregnancy-related deaths from 2021 to 2024. This will give Texans the first glimpse at these statistics since Roe V. Wade was overturned in 2022.
“Texas has the highest number of women who die in pregnancy, child birth and post-partum,” Goodwin said, “and we imagine with that with the total abortion ban that we have in the state that that has only increased, the numbers have increased and it’s gotten worse.”
The 2024 report looked at cases from 2020. It found of 203 pregnancy-associated death cases, 85 were pregnancy-related and 80% were considered preventable.
Goodwin believes because doctors in the state are not able to practice their full scope of medicine due to the abortion ban, it has led to women dying at even higher rates.
“It’s preventable,” Goodwin said, “and that’s the thing. If we had the report, yes, it would probably look bad on our current leadership and it would indicate we need to change our law, but at the same time, it could save lives.”
DSHS released a statement last month stating the delay is coming from a more thorough review. Goodwin says the report is already finished and won’t be released because they could impact the midterms, significantly affecting what can be done based on the report’s recommendations.
“We file legislation right after election, really throughout session, but the earlier we get something filed, the more likely it is to pass into law,” Goodwin said. “It’s very difficult to get laws passed here in Texas and so the more time we have, the better.”
The first recommendation provided in the 2024 report was to improve access to comprehensive health services for all women of child-bearing age in Texas. This is an issue that has yet to be resolved in many cities, including Lubbock, and this report delay could expand that problem even further.
Goodwin says Texas is absolutely not doing enough to protect women in the state and hopes this report is issued before it’s too late.
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