Turning Point USA

The Abundant Birth Program, launched by the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) in partnership with Expecting Justice in 2021, provides pregnant black women with a guaranteed monthly income of $1,000 for one year to “reduce racial health disparities.”

The program has been awarded $5 million in state funding to expand to other counties throughout California. In the year since the program’s conception, 150 women have received the supplemental guaranteed income.

Beginning in 2023, the program will launch in “Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, and Riverside counties and will continue in San Francisco. The program will serve an additional 425 mothers and other birthing parents with grant funding recently announced by the California Department of Social Services,” according to the announcement released by the City of San Francisco.

San Francisco has been leading the charge in terms of universal basic income. Most recently, the city launched the GIFT Program, which guarantees $1,200 per month to “Transgender, Non-Binary, Gender Non-Conforming, and Intersex” living in the area.

“The Abundant Birth Project has proven to be successful in San Francisco and brings an innovative, equitable approach to addressing disproportionate health impacts largely among black families, which is why I committed to investing $1.5 million over the next two years to grow the program in our City and neighboring counties.”

“This guaranteed income program helps ease some of the financial burdens that all too often keep mothers from being able to prioritize their own health and ultimately impact the health of their babies and family.”

San Francisco Mayor London Breed — Daily Mail

The program was established under the assumption that income inequalities create racial disparities in birth outcomes. Expecting Justice asserts that $12,000 after one year of payments will “improve economic outcomes” for black women, without explaining how. The funds can be used by the recipient in any way they see fit, the program doesn’t stipulate that the receiver must use them for medical or pregnancy-related expenses.

It is true that black, Native American, and Pacific Islander women are at a greater risk to die during pregnancy than hispanic and white women, according to CDC data. The Abundant Birth Project looks at the numbers, and immediately assumes that racism is the cause, maternal mortality is the effect. The CDC backs this notion, stating, “multiple factors contribute to these disparities, such as variation in quality healthcare, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias.”

The leading cause of death among all pregnant women is homicide, according to a study published in the medical journal, Obstetrics & Gynecology. Again, black women are at the top of the list, and are the most likely race to be killed during pregnancy or during the postpartum period. Still, the abuser isn’t blamed by left leaning outlets, instead, “medical racism, a long legacy of discrimination and reproductive coercion” are the reasons “Black women [are] facing some of the highest rates of domestic violence and sexual abuse.”

The fact that the black community suffers from the highest rates of domestic abuse can’t reliably be contributed solely to racism. Despite this, many on the left still attribute the abuse of pregnant black women to “medical racism” — somehow, a doctor’s bias (when and where it may exist) directly contributes to abuse at home, the argument is nonsensical.

“Police-reported [intimate partner violence or domestic abuse] rates were 2 to 3 times higher among black and Hispanic women compared to white women. Overall, hospitalization rates were higher among black and white victims and lower among Hispanic victims than their counterparts.”

NIH Library of Medicine

Asking why black Americans experience these high levels of domestic violence could stem from a number of problems. Broken families, single-parent households, education, and other aspects all contribute to increased risk of violent outbursts for all people. Unfortunately, black children are most likely to grow up in a single-parent household for various reasons — including government programs, some of which financially incentive single parenthood, and make it increasingly easier to divorce a spouse.

The second highest cause of death for pregnant women, according to CDC statistics, are cardiovascular conditions and heart disease, which again, does disproportionally affect black women. The question that needs to be answered is why black women are more affected by this.

“As a community, African-Americans have higher rates of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes – the four major risk factors for heart disease. For instance, 57 percent of adult African-American women are obese, compared to 34 percent of non-Hispanic white women.”

UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern attributes this to the higher number of black Americans who are overweight compared to other races, increasing their risk of heart disease. The medical center explains that though genetics do play a role, lifestyle seems to be the most likely cause of heart conditions. Of course, health and overall lifestyle can easily be a reflection of the individuals financial stability, and therefore their ability to buy heart-healthy foods — but does this prove the idea that racism is ultimately to blame?

Is the solution to this problem a no-questions-asked check, once a month, for a year? Or is there possibly something that the government could do to increase economic opportunity, rather than handing out a band-aid solution to a select number of people. Of course, it is a well-established fact that higher rates of government spending increase the costs of goods and services, ultimately harming the the population as a whole. There is also the moral component, making these programs questionable, considering the money does not technically belong to the state government — it is taxpayer money, taken out of paychecks, sales, etcetera, and given to others who did not earn it.

In 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom allocated $35 million, which would be distributed over five years, to pay for “universal basic income pilot programs.” This included his “stimulus check” program supposedly for low income Californians struggling with skyrocketing inflation, gas and grocery prices. Of course, this plan of action has been time and time again criticized by economists for directly contributing to rising prices because of heavy government spending.

TPUSA