MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Re: Friday, January 28, 2022
Rally to #PUSHbiasout at the Capitol
Tomorrow: Advocates and Supporters Amplify Their Call to Legislators to Help End Virginia’s Maternal Mortality Crisis
RICHMOND, Va – The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP) has led the faith community and a statewide maternal health coalition in the campaign to end Virginia’s maternal health crisis where Black women are dying three to four times more than their counterparts in pregnancy-associated deaths. VICPP supports Senate Bill 456, patroned by Sen. Mamie Locke and the identical House Bill 1105, patroned by Del. Delores McQuinn because it is an intervention for Virginia’s maternal mortality crisis. This measure has drawn bipartisan support in both chambers of the 2022 General Assembly. The first votes on this measure will be held Friday morning before a subcommittee in the Senate Education and Health committee.
WHAT:
A unity rally (socially distanced and masked) as testimony is delivered before the Senate subcommittee to amplify voices of advocates and supporters of ending Virginia’s maternal mortality crisis.
WHY:
SB 456 makes two hours of unconscious (implicit) bias training every biennium an eligibility criterion for all health care professionals seeking licensure from the Virginia Board of Medicine. This measure addresses preventable provider-related factors found to be the most prevalent contributors to mortality in pregnancy-associated deaths in Virginia, all with a correlation to unconscious bias.
The purposes of the Rally to #PUSHbiasout are to:
1. Elevate the voices and faces behind the alarming statistics of Virginia’s maternal health crisis
2. Raise awareness of legislators of their vital role and authority
3. Demonstrate support for those giving testimony to the committee
WHEN:
8:30 a.m. The start time for the meeting of the Health Professions subcommittee of the Senate Education and Health.
WHERE:
The corner of Bank and 10th Streets (Outside the Capitol Building entrance, across the street from the Pocahontas Building). The rally will be in the line of visibility of legislators as they arrive to their offices or walk to the Capitol Building entrance.
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RESOURCES:
Rally to #PUSHbiasout Event Details & Updates Page
Legislative Priorities 2022 One-Pager
VICPP Priority Bills Tracker
The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy advocates economic, racial, and social justice in Virginia’s policies and practices through education, prayer, and action. VICPP is a non-partisan coalition of 750 faith communities working for a more just society.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Ayesha Gilani Taylor
Director of Communications
Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy
AyeshaGT@virginiainterfaithcenter.org
804-719-1218