[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 7] [House] [Page 9049] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]MATERNAL MORTALITY (Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.) Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to enthusiastically support House Resolution 1022, a resolution recognizing maternal health as a basic human right of all women. How appropriate it is to stand here a week after Mother's Day in support of this commonsense initiative. One in eight women in Afghanistan die due to complications resulting from pregnancy in childbirth. One in eight. And it's the same story in many countries around the world. But, unfortunately, this is not just a Third World problem. Although the United States is a leader in medical technology and innovation, it has one of the worst rankings for maternal mortality in all the industrialized nations. We come in at a dismal 41st place, which means that a mother and her baby have a greater chance of survival in Kuwait or Croatia than they do in the United States. In a relatively wealthy country, pregnancy should not be a death sentence. There are inexpensive and effective solutions that can significantly reduce the rates of maternal mortality, and I look forward to working with the Women's Caucus. ____________________