[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5979 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5979

  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the national 
  collection of data on stillbirths in a standardized manner, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 6, 2008

Mr. King of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the national 
  collection of data on stillbirths in a standardized manner, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stillbirth Awareness and Research 
Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) While States issue both a birth and a death certificate 
        when a baby lives for only moments outside the womb, most 
        States issue only a death certificate in the case of a 
        stillbirth.
            (2) Almost half of the States have enacted legislation 
        called MISSing Angels bills allowing a State to issue a 
        ``Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth'', and many 
        other States are considering such legislation.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that more 
States should enact legislation that allows the issuance of a 
``Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth'' when the pregnancy 
results in a stillbirth.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL STILLBIRTH REGISTRY.

    Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 243 
et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 317S the following:

``SEC. 317T. NATIONAL STILLBIRTH REGISTRY.

    ``(a) Establishment.--For the purposes described in subsection (b), 
the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, shall, by grant or contract, establish and 
maintain a scientific registry of stillbirths in the United States (in 
this section referred to as the `registry').
    ``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of the registry are--
            ``(1) to provide a national repository for reporting and 
        maintaining in a consistent manner data on stillbirths; and
            ``(2) to make such data available for research on the 
        causes and prevention of stillbirths.
    ``(c) Content.--The registry shall include, with respect to each 
stillbirth, information on the stillborn fetus and the mother's health 
and pregnancy as collected and submitted by States on the U.S. Standard 
Report of Fetal Death. In submitting such information, the Director of 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall require States to 
use the standard definition of stillbirth and the standard protocol for 
stillbirth data collection and surveillance as determined pursuant to 
subsection (d).
    ``(d) Determination of Standard Stillbirth Definition and 
Protocol.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, the 
        Secretary shall provide for the development of the following:
                    ``(A) A standard definition of stillbirth.
                    ``(B) A standard protocol for stillbirth data 
                collection and surveillance.
            ``(2) Consultation.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
        standard definition and protocol described paragraph (1) are 
        developed under such paragraph in a manner that ensures the 
        consultation of representatives of health care organizations, 
        State and local governments, and other interested entities 
        specified by the Secretary.''.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON NIH FUNDING FOR STILLBIRTH RESEARCH.

    It is the sense of the Congress that the Director of the National 
Institutes of Health should increase the allocation of funds and other 
resources for stillbirth research.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
carry out a national campaign to increase public awareness and 
knowledge of stillbirths and public and State awareness of the standard 
stillbirth definition and standard protocol for stillbirth data 
collection and surveillance under section 306(h)(3) of the Public 
Health Service Act, as added by section 3.
    (b) Measures To Reduce the Incidence of Stillbirths.--Activities 
under the national campaign under subsection (a) shall include--
            (1) the dissemination of information on measures for 
        mothers to maintain a healthy pregnancy and assess fetal 
        health;
            (2) the dissemination of information on good prenatal care 
        practices such as not drinking alcohol or smoking; and
            (3) the promotion of fetal movement awareness and taking 
        proactive steps to monitor a baby's movement beginning at 
        approximately 28 weeks into the pregnancy.
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