A bill aimed at reducing maternal deaths in Black women has been brought before California Governor Gavin Newsom. 

According to a report from the Associated Press, California has some of the lowest death rates nationally among pregnant women and new mothers. However, when it comes to Black women, they are six times more likely to die within a year of pregnancy. 

The bill, nicknamed “Momnibus”, will direct multi-agency efforts to improve maternal health, particularly among racial and ethnic minority groups, veterans, and other vulnerable populations. The bill also requires collecting more details about pregnancy-related deaths and seeks to diversify the experts looking at that data. 

“We can make better decisions about prevention, intervention, systems changes, not only at the hospital level but at the community level,” Mashariki Kudumu, director of maternal and infant health initiatives for the March of Dimes, told the AP. 

The bill would also expand access to doulas and midwives, whose presence can drive better care. 

According to a report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. 

“Multiple factors contribute to these disparities, such as variation in quality healthcare, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias,” The report reads. 

Newsom in the past has been a supporter of improving care for Black pregnant women by requiring “implicit bias” training for health care workers involved in perinatal care. 

According to the AP’s report, his Department of Finance opposes the bill because the $6.7 million price tag for expanded data collection wasn’t included in the state budget. 

Currently, there is no clear answer if he will sign it.