Human Rights Group Slams Mississippi For Failing To Prevent Black Women’s Cervical Cancer Deaths

The federal government, human rights activists say, is also to blame.

Human rights activists have determined that the state of Mississippi and the federal government failed to prevent Black women in the rural Mississippi Delta region from dying of cervical cancer.

In a joint report, The Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative for Economic and Social Justice (SRBWI) and Human Rights Watch deemed the racial disparities in the rates of cervical cancer deaths “persistent and glaring.”

A lack of access to healthcare care is a major contributor to why Black women in the state are more likely to die of cervical cancer, according to the report, which was released on Jan. 29.

“As of 2022, an estimated 10.8 percent of the state’s population did not have health insurance. As of January 2023, almost 18 percent of women of reproductive age (18 to 44) were uninsured, and rates were even higher for women of color,” the report states.

Mississippi is one of 10 states in the U.S. that did not expand Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which would have provided healthcare to more low-income individuals.

Human Rights Watch argues that the state’s inability to offer affordable healthcare to these individuals led to the closing of rural hospitals and a shortage of healthcare professionals. Without affordable access to healthcare, some Black women in the state face challenges when seeking out preventative care, such as cancer screening and life-saving treatments. The Commonwealth Fund reported that in 2024, Mississippi ranked the lowest on its annual Women’s Health And Reproductive Healthcare Report.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common forms of the disease for American women. However, the American Cancer Society reports Black women die at a rate that is 65% higher than whites. Mississippi has one the highest poverty levels in the country; according to The World Population Review, 19% of the state’s population lives below the poverty line.