A RESOLUTION to recognize the week of April 11 through April 17, 2025, as Black Maternal Health Week.
Senate Resolution 119 is a commemorative resolution that recognizes April 11 through April 17, 2025, as Black Maternal Health Week in Tennessee. The resolution highlights the national maternal and reproductive health crisis, with a particular focus on the disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity experienced by Black women and birthing persons. It cites CDC data, references preventable pregnancy-related deaths, and describes contributing factors such as structural racism, discrimination, limited access to care, maternity care deserts, and barriers to postpartum and mental health services.
The resolution also frames Black maternal health as a broader equity issue tied to housing, transportation, food access, environmental conditions, economic opportunity, workplace protections, and criminal justice reform. It calls attention to the importance of culturally congruent, community-led care and supports policies grounded in reproductive justice, birth justice, and human rights. The resolution specifically urges support for Black-led maternal health organizations, perinatal workers, and expanded access to comprehensive reproductive and maternal care.
As a Senate resolution, SR0119 does not change Tennessee statutes, create new regulatory requirements, or appropriate funds. Its legal effect is limited to formally expressing the Senate’s recognition of Black Maternal Health Week and its support for efforts to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity among Black women and birthing persons. The resolution may influence public policy discussions and signal legislative support for maternal health initiatives, but it does not itself amend state law or impose obligations on agencies, providers, or private parties.
The overall sentiment reflected in the resolution is strongly supportive and urgent. The bill presents Black maternal health as an unacceptable public health and civil rights issue and uses emphatic language about the need for action, investment, and policy change. Because there is no recorded committee debate or vote history provided, there is no evidence of opposition in the available materials; the measure appears to be a symbolic recognition resolution with a clear pro-equity, pro-maternal-health message.
The resolution itself is not structured around legislative controversy, but it identifies several policy areas that are often contested in broader maternal health debates. These include reproductive rights after Roe v. Wade, criminal justice practices such as shackling and mandatory reporting, workplace accommodations for pregnant workers, Medicaid reimbursement and access to care, and support for community-based providers such as midwives and doulas. The resolution’s emphasis on structural racism, reproductive justice, and decriminalization suggests alignment with advocacy groups focused on racial equity, while those same themes could be points of disagreement for critics of the underlying policy agenda.