U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Illinois) introduced a new maternal health bill Friday, March 6, named after Mercedes Wells, her constituent and a Black woman who was forced to give birth on the side of the road minutes after being discharged from a hospital while in active labor.
The Women Expansion for Learning and Labor Safety (WELLS) Act seeks to prevent similar traumatic situations by urging hospitals and birthing centers to develop and implement a safe discharge plan. The WELLS Act also includes racial bias training for healthcare professionals, building on Rep. Kelly’s Maternal Health Quality Improvement Act of 2022.
“I’m bringing Mercedes’ story to Congress because her voice, and every Black woman’s voice, deserves to be heard loud and clear. Black women’s pain in labor cannot and should not be ignored, dismissed, and discharged,” Kelly said. “When I met Mercedes, she said she wanted to be used as a vessel for change. I will never forget her courage, and I’ll make sure our hospitals change for her, her newborn daughter, and every Black woman. I’m rooting out racism in our healthcare system until all women receive the care they deserve, no matter the color of her skin.”
Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Delaware) will introduce the Senate companion bill.
The WELLS Act is also endorsed by 4Kira4Moms, Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, Chamber of Mothers, and In Our Own Voice.
The WELLS Act lays out requirements for a safe discharge labor plan:
- Clinical justification for discharge.
- Patient understanding for discharge and following plan.
- Assessment of travel distance between hospital and patient’s destination.
- Identification of a back-up hospital or birthing center on the way to patient’s destination.
- Verification of reliable transportation.
