H.R. 5487 — what changed

Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting after section 317L–1 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–13a) the following:

“317L–2. Stillbirth research and data collection improvements

“(a) Stillbirth surveillance and risk factor studies

“(1) In general—The Secretary may award grants to States for purposes of—

changed “(A) conducting surveillance and collecting data with respect to stillbirths; andstillbirths;

changed “(B) collecting building State and reporting data on stillbirth risk factors, including any quantifiable outcomes with respect local public health capacity to such risk factors.assess stillbirth data; and

added “(C) collecting and reporting data on stillbirth risk factors, including any quantifiable outcomes with respect to such risk factors.

“(2) Authorization of appropriations—To carry out this subsection, there is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.

“(b) Guidelines and educational awareness materials

“(1) In general—The Secretary shall—

“(A) issue guidelines to State departments of health and State and local vital statistics units on—

added “(i) collecting data on stillbirth from health care providers, and with the consent of the family involved, including any such data with respect to the clinical history, postmortem examination, and placental pathology;

removed “(i) collecting data on stillbirth from health care providers, and with the consent of the family involved, including any such data with respect to the clinical history, postmortem examination, and placental pathology; and

“(ii) sharing such data with Federal agencies determined appropriate by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and

added “(iii) improving processes and training related to stillbirth data collection and reporting to ensure standardization and completeness of data; and

“(B) develop, and make publicly available, educational awareness materials on stillbirths.

added “(2) Consultation—In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary may consult with—

removed “(2) Consultation—In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult with—

“(A) national health care professional associations;

removed “(B) obstetricians and gynecologists;

removed “(C) pediatricians;

changed “(D) maternal-fetal medicine specialists;“(B) national associations representing State and local public health officials;

changed “(E) midwives;“(C) organizations that assist families with burial support and bereavement services;

changed “(F) mental health professionals;“(D) nurses and nurse practitioners;

changed “(G) statisticians;“(E) obstetricians and gynecologists;

changed “(H) individuals who have experienced a stillbirth; and“(F) pediatricians;

changed “(I) advocacy organizations representing such individuals.“(G) maternal-fetal medicine specialists;

added “(H) midwives;

added “(I) mental health professionals;

added “(J) statisticians;

added “(K) individuals who have experienced a stillbirth; and

added “(L) advocacy organizations representing such individuals.

“(3) Authorization of appropriations—To carry out this subsection, there is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.

added “(c) Vital statistics unit defined—In this section, the term vital statistics unit means the entity that is responsible for maintaining vital records for a State, or a political subdivision of such State, including official records of live births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, divorces, and annulments.”

removed “(c) Definitions—In this section:

removed “(1) Stillbirth—The term stillbirth means the death or loss of a baby before or during delivery, occurring at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

removed “(2) Vital statistics unit—The term vital statistics unit means the entity that is responsible for maintaining vital records for a State, or a political subdivision of such State, including official records of live births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, divorces, and annulments.”

The Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting after section 1122 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300c–12) the following:

“1123. Improving perinatal pathology

changed “(a) In general—The Secretary shall establish and implement implement, or incorporate into an existing training program, a Perinatal Pathology Fellowship Program or a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship on Factors Associated with Stillbirth Program to—

changed “(1) provide postgraduate training in perinatal autopsy pathology;

changed “(2) conduct research on, and improve data collection through fetal autopsies with respect to, fetal autopsies; stillbirth; and

“(3) address challenges in stillbirth education, research, and data collection.

“(b) Authorization of appropriations—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.”