Washington D.C. – Amid continued attacks to the CDC by the Trump Administration, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is fighting to protect maternal health in Georgia.
Sen. Ossoff and other members of Congress are demanding the Trump Administration provide answers on the reported shutdownof a critical Maternal Health data system at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The group is asking CDC Acting Director Susan Monarez why the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) has ceased operations, leaving states, researchers and medical providers without vital public health data.
“As a vital initiative jointly operated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and several state, territorial, and local health departments, PRAMS plays a crucial role in collecting data to improve maternal and infant health outcomes, representing over 80 percent of all U.S. live births,” Sen. Ossoff and the group wrote. “This information is of increasing importance as the U.S. is experiencing a maternal health crisis: it has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among high-income nations, increasing rates of complications from pregnancy or childbirth, and persistent disparities in such outcomes.”
PRAMS’ abrupt shutdown comes amid a worsening maternal health crisis in Georgia, which has already one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country.
Georgia has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, putting women, mothers, and infants at risk.
Sen. Ossoff continues working to support the health and safety of Georgia mothers and children.
Last week, Sen. Ossoff, alongside Sen. Warnock, urged the Trump Administration to reverse course on recent decisions to indiscriminately fire critical public health employees at the CDC.
Last month, Sen. Ossoff blasted President Trump’s mass firings at the CDC.
Last year, as Chair of the Senate Human Rights Subcommittee, Sen. Ossoff convened two public hearings at which Georgia women and Georgia OBGYNs testified to the harmful impacts of Georgia’s abortion ban.
In July, OB-GYN doctors testified that women in Georgia are being denied care during miscarriages and gone into sepsis because of Georgian’s abortion ban, which they testified has hindered OGBYNs’ ability to do their jobs and could put them at risk of prosecution.
In September, two patients and an OBGYN testified in Atlanta that the State’s abortion ban is forcing Georgia women to continue high-risk and nonviable pregnancies.
Click here to read the group’s letter to the CDC.
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