Council Member Louis Urges Support for Black Women's Reproductive Health Bills

Thank you, Mr.

Majority Leader.

I need to say something that doesn't get often said.

Being a black woman in America is an act of endurance.

Every single day we navigate a world that was not designed with us in mind, a healthcare system that has historically diminished our pain, minimized our concerns, and

delivered us as subpar care.

We, sorry.

We walk into doctors'offices and have to fight to be heard, and we are dying at rates that should shock and shock the conscience of every person in this chamber.

So we have to fight.

We have to legislate, and we have to demand that the health care system that is supposed to serve us actually does.

One of the most significant and most overlooked crises in black women's reproductive health has been uterine fibroids.

Studies show that more than 80% of black women will develop fibroids by the age of 50.

Black women experience a nearly three-fold higher incidence rate and are more likely to undergo surgery, and fibroids remain the leading cause of hysterectomies in the United States, many of which may be preventable with earlier diagnosis and better options.

Intro 1113 would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to develop mandatory training for health care providers on the diagnosis and treatment of uterine fibroids, and Intro 1114 would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

to report annually on cervical and ovarian cancer screenings and diagnosis across New York City.

Together, these bills demand better data and better care because black women deserve it.

I urge my colleagues to support both intros.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Lewis.

Councilmember Banks, followed by Councilmember Wilson.