AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Lawmakers in Texas largely failed to take significant action to address the state’s skyrocketing rate of pregnancy-related deaths just months after researchers found it to be the highest in not only the U.S., but the developed world.
Legislators introduced proposals to address the issue after a University of Maryland-led study found that Texas’ maternal mortality rate doubled between 2010 and 2012. But several key measures didn’t even make it to a legislative vote, falling victim to Republican infighting over other issues.
This year’s session has ended, and lawmakers don’t reconvene until 2019.
One failed bill would have extended the life of a previously established Texas’ maternal mortality task force. The committee of doctors and behavioral specialists could have more closely analyzed specific causes of pregnancy-related deaths.
