Top NYC Health Official: Minority Women Are 'Mothers,' Whites Are 'Birthing People'
New York City top health official claims only black and hispanic women are 'mothers'
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New York City's top health official has been met with severe backlash after claiming that black and Hispanic women are classed as "mothers" while white women are considered "birthing people."
Dr. Michelle Morse is the first medical officer at the NYC Department of Health who also works as the department's deputy commissioner for the Center for Health Equity and Community Wellness.
In her tweets, Morse talked about the expansion of a new citywide "birth equity" initiative.
She refers to one group of moms by the "woke" dehumanizing term "birthing people."
In the same tweets, she says black and Hispanic women are "mothers."
The tweets caused an uproar and Morse was accused of being divisive and separating mothers due to their race, with white mothers falling into the "birthing people" category.
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"The urgency of this moment is clear," Morse wrote.
"Mortality rates of birthing people are too high, and babies born to Black and Puerto Rican mothers in this city are three times more likely to die in their first year of life than babies born to non-Hispanic White birthing people."
The urgency of this moment is clear. Mortality rates of birthing people are too high, and babies born to Black and Puerto Rican mothers in this city are three times more likely to die in their first year of life than babies born to non-Hispanic White birthing people.
— Dr. Michelle E. Morse (@NYCHealthCMO) March 23, 2022
Morse, who was hired in February last year as the first chief medical officer for the department, also serves as the department’s deputy commissioner for the Center for Health Equity and Community Wellness, which places focus on ending racial inequities.
Several social media users responded to Morse, accusing the doctor of being divisive.
"White Mothers are called 'birthing people' and black and Puerto Rican Mothers are called Mothers," one Twitter user asked Morse.
"Your license to practice medicine should be revoked."
White Mothers are called 'birthing people' and black and Puerto Rican Mothers are called Mothers? Your license to practice medicine should be revoked.
— Kimberly Morin (@Conservativeind) March 24, 2022
"My mother Francesca who is white was delivered by a midwife who was white under a sink on Stillman Street in a cold water flat back in the 1920's," wrote former New York City mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa.
"According to Dr Morse what would that make my grandmother? How ridiculous."
My mother Francesca who is white was delivered by a midwife who was white under a sink on Stillman Street in a cold water flat back in the 1920's. According to Dr Morse what would that make my grandmother? How ridiculous
— Curtis Sliwa (@CurtisSliwa) April 2, 2022
A DOH spokesperson told the New York Post that Morse's tweet was an "oversight" and said, "we apologize for inadvertently gendering black and Puerto Rican birthing people."
Morse's remarks come just months after New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul declared racism a "public health crisis" in the state.
Morse earned her M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 2008, and her MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health in May 2012, according to the NYC Health Department.
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Several Democrats, including Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) as well as pro-choice group NARAL, have emphasized the term "birthing people."
"Every day, Black birthing people and our babies die because our doctors don’t believe our pain," Bush wrote in a tweet last May.
"My children almost became a statistic.
"I almost became a statistic.
"I testified about my experience @OversightDems today.
"Hear us. Believe us. Because for so long, nobody has."
Echoing Bush's remarks on the term, NARAL wrote, "When we talk about birthing people, we're being inclusive.
"It's that simple.
"We use gender neutral language when talking about pregnancy because it's not just cis-gender women that can get pregnant and give birth.
"Reproductive freedom is for *every* body."
Similarly, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has been mocked for using the term "menstruating person" instead of women during an interview.
