Anti-abortion doctor joined Texas’ maternal mortality committee

RIO GRANDE VALLEY (AP) – When a group of state health officials and members of Texas’ maternal mortality committee gathered to review applications for new members, they easily agreed on who should fill five positions reserved for medical professionals.

But the two spots for community members were more difficult to fill, records show.

For the rural community member position, the committee did not choose a candidate, instead advancing the top two choices. The candidate who scored highest on the application rubric was an obstetrics nurse and nursing professor from the Rio Grande Valley; the next highest was Dr. Ingrid Skop, a prominent anti-abortion OB-GYN in San Antonio.

Department of State Health Services deputy commissioner Kirk Cole broke the stalemate, writing in a memo that “although the applicant did not have the highest score, I recommend selecting Dr. Ingrid Skop.”

Cole wrote that Skop’s application “indicates previous practice in rural areas” and noted her involvement in community organizations that serve rural interests. Her resume, however, shows a career spent entirely in San Antonio, and volunteer work primarily at anti-abortion organizations based in cities.

For the other community member position, reserved for someone from one of the state’s urban centers, the application review committee recommended Queen Esther Egbe, a Black woman who had personally experienced maternal health complications. Egbe runs a nonprofit that helps Black women advocate for themselves during childbirth, and serves on the Tarrant County infant mortality review committee.

Cole nixed that recommendation, however, instead advancing Dr. Meenakshi Awasthi, a Houston pediatric emergency fellow who scored higher on the application rubric.

The two spots reserved for community members are now both filled by doctors, and more than 90% of the members have a doctoral degree. Committee chair Dr. Carla Ortique said at the June meeting this was “cause for concern.”

“It is rarely possible for those who sit in positions of privilege to truly be the voice of at-risk communities,” she said. “We can and should at all times be voices that support and attempt to foster positive change. We can be trusted allies. However, we cannot truly be their voice.”

State Rep. Shawn Thierry, an outgoing Houston Democrat who authored the legislation that increased the number of community members from one to two, said it was never the intention to have those spots filled by more doctors.

“The goal was quite simple, just to add an additional voice so that the existing community member would not be the sole voice for the community on the panel,” Thierry said. “Two voices was better than one.”

Now, there are none.