Oregon’s Maternal Mortality Crisis Exposes National Failures in Protecting Mothers and Families

Every year in Oregon, health professionals painstakingly review each tragic case where a mother dies during or soon after pregnancy. The 2023 report exposes a grim reality: mental health disorders and substance abuse have overtaken all other causes as the leading drivers behind these needless deaths.These are not isolated tragedies. Many victims were homeless or marginalized, slipping through the cracks of a healthcare system ill-equipped to handle their complex needs. The fact that nearly half of these deaths were preventable raises urgent questions: Why is America failing its mothers? And how long will Washington continue to ignore the intersection of...