Huston: Op-Ed Claims Death of Pregnant Olympian Tori Bowie Proves ‘Racial Disparity in Maternal Death Rates’

American Olympic gold medal winner in track and field Tori Bowie shockingly died at the age of only 32 in May. It was later discovered that she died of pregnancy complications, but now the left-wing media is using Bowie’s regrettable death to push their race agenda.

The former sprinter was found dead at her home on May 2 after the police were called to make a welfare check.

An autopsy report from the Orange County (Florida) Medical Examiner’s Office later confirmed that Bowie was around eight months pregnant and was in active labor when she died.

The coroner said Bowie may have suffered from issues including respiratory distress and eclampsia at the time of her death.

“Eclampsia typically occurs after the 20th week of pregnancy. It’s rare and affects less than 3% of people with preeclampsia. Eclampsia can cause complications during pregnancy and requires emergency medical care,” the Cleveland Clinic says, according to USA Today.

The death has been officially ruled a death by natural causes.

But now, writing in UPI, Dennis Thompson of HealthDay News, and others, are trying to make Bowie’s death a racial issue by claiming that the incident “highlights racial health disparities that increase a Black woman’s risk during pregnancy, even if she’s fit and financially well-off,” as the article puts it.
Thompson adds:

Having a baby in the United States continues to be a risky proposition, particularly for Black women, according to a pair of new reports.

The number of U.S. deliveries that resulted in severe, potentially life-threatening complications for the mother increased between 2008 and 2021, according to a new analysis led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Numerous news outlets, including ABC News, the Washington Post, HuffPost, and many others, disingenuously plied the same “racism” angle

The facts concerning the pregnancies of black women are certainly nothing to dismiss. But using Bowie as a platform to dive into this story is simply outrageous and inapplicable.

As Thompson noted in the article, Bowie had financial means and was fit, so her living conditions and general access to pregnancy care were not an issue.

Her real problem seems to lie elsewhere. For several years Bowie had been exhibiting mental health issues. Indeed, it is unknown if she refused to get the help of healthcare professionals for her pregnancy because she was having mental health issues.

According to CBS News, Bowie’s “autopsy listed bipolar disorder as part of her medical history.”

Also, the Daily Mail noted that Bowie had a “long history” of erratic behavior, including pelting eggs at one neighbor’s house and wielding a knife in the street while screaming at a boyfriend.

To use Bowie as an example of how blacks suffer negligence during pregnancy is simply not a legitimate act. Bowie’s tragic end is not illustrative of racial disparities in prenatal care. The media hasn’t bothered to consider the mental health issues which likely played a large part in her death and the death of her child. She may have died due to the quick onset of eclampsia. But she also may have died because her delicate mental health prevented her from getting help when her physical condition became endangered.
The point is we don’t know all the things that may have contributed to her death. But it is safe to say that she does not easily fit the category of racial disparities in prenatal care. So, using her for that racial agenda just isn’t legitimate journalism.

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