By Brian Lyman | Editor
“Lack of access to care, closure of labor and delivery services, poverty, poor nutrition and chronic disease play significant roles in the health of mothers and infants. With the purpose to improve, promote and protect health, it is essential that we address the factors that contribute to maternal and infant poor health outcomes.” - Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama State Health Officer
Sierra Edgio talks about her birth experience as Ramona crawls on the carpet at the Alabama Birth Center Wednesday, April 15, 2026 in Huntsville, Ala. (Eric Schultz for Alabama Reflector)
HEALTHCARE
By Anna Barrett
Alabama’s infant mortality rate improved in 2024, but local rates can vary significantly based on access to adequate health care. Forty-one of Alabama’s 67 counties lack an active delivering facility, compared to 42 statewide. Infant mortality rates among Black Alabamians are more than double those of white Alabamians, and one county without health access had an mortality rate about four times the state average.
Democratic voters in Alabama’s 6th Congressional District with choose from (left to right) Maurice Mercer, Ashtyn Kennedy, Jacob Bouma-Sims and Keith Pilkington for the party’s nomination in a special primary election on Aug. 11. (Photos courtesy of candidates; graphic illustration by Andrea Tinker)
ELECTIONS 2026
By Andrea Tinker
Four Democrats are running in the Aug. 11 special primary for the 6th Congressional District in the suburbs of Birmingham. The candidates cite several priorities in their campaigns, ranging from affordability to regulation of data centers. As in other districts, the candidates said that the special election — a result of redistricting approved by the Legislature in May — has been causing confusion.
The logo of the Alabama Republican Party is seen on a lectern during a Republican Party dinner in Montgomery, Alabama on Aug. 4, 2023. (Stew Milne for Alabama Reflector)
COMMENTARY
By Brian Lyman
Two Republican congressmen loudly touting a bill targeting the Daughters of the American Revolution. A gubernatorial nominee rooting for data centers and gratuitously insulting their opponents. In my column this week, I write that years of dominating state government might just have weakened the Alabama GOP’s political skills, leading to candidates making a number of unforced errors.
ICYMI
Environmental groups seek to block oil and gas drilling in Conecuh National Forest | Ralph Chapoco, Alabama Reflector
Will Congress ban ‘mud dumping’ in Mobile Bay? | Dennis Pillion, Inside Climate News
States move to limit classroom screentime | Robbie Sequeira, Stateline
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