No Birth Should Be a Death Sentence
✉️ THE MORNING TRAP – APRIL 14, 2025
KinFam, wassup yo! Welcome Home—
It’s Black Maternal Health Week, but for too many of our people, the headlines still read like obituaries. While Trump’s leftovers and RFK Jr. are out here axing health programs like they cutting coupons, a new wave of Black-led lawmakers is saying: Not on our watch.
Today, we tapping in with the movement mamas, the policy baddies, and the birth justice soldiers who are flipping grief into legislation. From Pennsylvania to Virginia, they’re not just pushing paper—they’re saving lives.
If you’ve ever held a baby and thanked God she made it through… this one’s for you.
If you’ve ever buried a sister, cousin, or homegirl who didn’t… this one’s especially for you.
The system is trying to silence Black wombs. But this week, we make 'em the loudest mic in the country.
Let’s trap in.
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Black media has always been the difference between silence and survival.
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We need to protect Black media.
Because we’re the only ones telling the truth about what’s being lost.
We got you.
We need you to get us too.
— ✊🏾 The Morning Trap Team
Your People’s Mic. Daily.
🎯 TOP TRAP – No Birth Should Be a Death Sentence.
📌 Quick Recap:
RFLC and Black Mamas Matter Alliance are mobilizing legislators for Black Maternal Health Week (April 11–17).
Policies being pushed: Expand Medicaid, block anti-abortion bills, fund maternal care, and invest in Black communities.
Trump-era cuts and RFK Jr.’s mass layoffs at HHS threaten programs that protect Black birthing people.
🗣️ Trap Quote of the Day:
“Black mamas ain’t disposable. Our births ain’t battlegrounds.”
🎛️ THE TRAP BREAKDOWN – Deep But Digestible
🎤 Today’s Relevance:
Black folks been saying it: reproductive justice is not just about abortion access—it’s about survival. This Black Maternal Health Week, state legislators from the Reproductive Freedom Leadership Council (RFLC) are putting policy where their mouths are—because too many Black births end in tragedy, not triumph.
📚 Backstory:
Since 2018, the RFLC—under the State Innovation Exchange (SiX)—has been building a squad of state lawmakers fighting for reproductive freedom. Partnering with the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, this ain’t just symbolic; it’s systemic resistance.
💸 The Players:
RFLC: The frontline defenders writing real policy.
Black Mamas Matter Alliance: The movement architects.
Rep. Felicia Robinson (FL): “We deserve to give birth without fear.”
Rep. La’Tasha Mayes (PA): Leading the PA MOMNIBUS charge.
Rep. Rae Cousins (VA): Turning policy into practice with $6.7M in maternal investments.
Villains: Trump, RFK Jr., Elon Musk's “Gov’t Efficiency” squad—gutting HHS like it's a start-up.
🔁 The Pattern:
When white supremacist power structures attack reproductive rights, Black bodies bear the brunt. It's not just about cuts—it's about control. About who gets to reproduce safely, and who’s left to die in labor rooms turned war zones.
📣 Kinfolk Need to Know:
The same folks gutting reproductive care are the ones crying “pro-life.” Don’t fall for the spin.
🔁 TRAP TALK – Shareable. Shocking. Screenshot-Ready.
📸 Viral Quote:
“Reproductive freedom means the freedom to survive childbirth.”
📊 Stat That Hits:
Black women are 3x more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
🧾 Receipt That Flips It:
RFK Jr.’s layoffs could slash up to 20,000 HHS jobs. Programs protecting Black mamas? On the chopping block.
🔨 DO SOMETHING – Today’s Move
✅ ACTION:
Check out The Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA) is a Black women-led cross-sectoral alliance that centers Black mamas and birthing people to advocate, drive research, build power, and shift culture for Black maternal health, rights, and justice.
🔗 https://blackmamasmatter.org/bmhw25/
💬 Caption This:
Post this in your fam group right now:
“Reproductive justice IS racial justice. Black mamas deserve to live. Full stop."
✊🏽 CULTURE REWIND – Don’t Just Inform. Inspire.
🖼️ Moment:
"To be a Black mother in America is to defy a system built to break you." — Inspired by Audre Lorde
💼 Spotlight:
ROOTT - A nonprofit organization – Black family-led reproductive justice organization for women + families. @roottrj
🎤 Pull-Out Line:
“Birth justice is Black liberation.”
