WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) applauded the enactment of the Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act after it was signed into law. The law amends federal law to clarify that stillbirth prevention activities are an allowable use of federal funds, curbing the shockingly high rate of stillbirths and maternal mortality in the U.S. One out of 75 U.S. births tragically result in stillbirths, accounting for nearly 21,000 stillbirths a year—more than the number of babies who pass away during their first year of life annually.
“This is a great pro-life win that saves lives,” said Dr. Cassidy. “All life is precious, from the mother to the baby. Today, we showed the nation we are committed to preventing stillbirths and saving lives.”
“A single stillbirth is one too many. We must do more to address this dire public health crisis, which devastates families and happens at a higher rate to Black, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Alaska Native women,” said Senator Merkley. “My Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act takes long overdue action to confront our stillbirth crisis head-on and protect mothers and children nationwide. I’ll keep fighting to deliver the necessary resources for stillbirth prevention and research, ending this public health crisis once and for all.”
The Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act passed the U.S. Senate unanimously and the U.S. House of Representatives with a bipartisan vote of 408-3.
Cassidy and Merkley were joined by U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME), Jim Risch (R-ID), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Steve Daines (R-MT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Rick Scott (R-FL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), J.D. Vance (R-OH), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in cosponsoring in the Senate. The U.S. House of Representatives version was led by U.S. Representatives Ashley Hinson (R-IA-02) and Alma Adams (D-NC-12).
The Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act was supported by Healthy Birth Day, 1st Breath, Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health (formerly 2020 Mom), 2 Degrees Foundation, Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP), March of Dimes, Measure the Placenta, Mom Congress, PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy, Reproductive and Placental Research Unit, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine, Return to Zero: H.O.P.E., Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Every Mother Counts, Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), Start Healing Together, M.E.N.D. (Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death), Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI), American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), What to Expect Project, Postpartum Support International, Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE) Foundation, National Education Association (NEA), Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH), Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, SUDC Foundation, and RH Impact.
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