{"id":23060,"date":"2025-09-18T15:39:33","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T19:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/?p=23060"},"modified":"2025-09-18T17:56:47","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T21:56:47","slug":"booker-daines-merkley-wicker-reintroduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-reduce-u-s-stillbirth-rate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/es\/booker-daines-merkley-wicker-reintroduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-reduce-u-s-stillbirth-rate\/","title":{"rendered":"Booker, Daines, Merkley, Wicker Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Reduce U.S. Stillbirth Rate"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON DC <\/strong>– Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Steve Daines (R-MT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Roger Wicker (R-MS)  reintroduced the bipartisan, bicameral Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education (SHINE) for Autumn Act<\/em>, legislation that would reduce the alarmingly high U.S. stillbirth rate. Named after Autumn Joy, a New Jersey baby who was stillborn in 2011, the bill provides critical resources to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and state health departments. It would improve data collection, research, education, and public awareness around stillbirth. U.S. Representatives Young Kim (R-CA-40), Kathy Castor (D-FL-14), Mike Kelly (R-PA-16), John Joyce (R-PA-13), and Zach Nunn (R-IA-03) introduced companion legislation in the House. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the CDC, stillbirth affects 1 in 175 pregnancies, with over 20,000 babies born still each year. Studies indicate that at least 25 percent of U.S. stillbirths are preventable, which could save over 5,000 babies each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cNobody should have to experience the immense sorrow of stillbirth,\u201d dijo el senador Booker.<\/strong> \u201cWe must address the maternal and infant health crisis that continues to result in thousands of families grappling with the unthinkable every year in the United States. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation is aimed at increasing data collection, research, education, and public awareness around stillbirths so we can save lives and put an end to this crisis.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cStillbirth is a tragedy faced by thousands of moms and families every year, both in Montana and throughout the nation. I\u2019m glad to join my colleagues on this bipartisan bill to help expand research, education, and data collection surrounding stillbirths, so we can save lives and provide hope for stillbirth families,\u201d dijo el Senador Daines. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cOne stillbirth in the United States is one too many,\u201d dijo el senador Merkley<\/strong>. \u201cThe stillbirth crisis devastates families and disproportionately affects Black and Indigenous women. The passage of my Ley de prevenci\u00f3n de la muerte fetal de la salud maternoinfantil<\/em> was a critical first step to protecting mothers and children nationwide. We need to keep the momentum going and pass our bipartisan SHINE for Autumn Act<\/em> to tackle the full scale of this public health crisis for families across the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cEvery stillbirth is heartbreaking, and too many Mississippi families have known that pain. It is unacceptable that stillbirth rates have remained stagnant for three decades,\u201d said Senator Wicker<\/strong>. \u201cThis legislation would accelerate research into this understudied tragedy, helping save precious lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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“As a mom and a grandma, I have experienced both the joys of pregnancy and pain of loss firsthand. Helping moms, moms-to-be, and their babies is personal to me,\u201d said Representative Young Kim. <\/strong>\u201cFar too many families in our nation experience the heartbreak of stillbirth, yet this enduring crisis remains overlooked and underfunded. The SHINE for Autumn Act will give us the tools to better understand, prevent, and respond to stillbirths, while ensuring moms, babies, and families receive the support they deserve. I\u2019m proud to lead this bipartisan effort to bring hope and solutions to families across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cToo many families are suffering from the heartbreak of losing a baby to stillbirth, and it\u2019s past time for Congress to step up and provide tools to save mothers and babies,\u201d said Representative Castor. <\/strong>\u201cThe maternal and infant health crisis is devastating to all, and there is still so much we don\u2019t know due to barriers in data collection. Estimates are that nearly one in four stillbirths could be prevented \u2013 that means lives saved and families spared enormous pain. That\u2019s why I am proud to work with bipartisan colleagues, Reps. Kim, Kelly and Joyce and Sens. Booker and Daines in reintroducing the SHINE for Autumn Act. Together, we can reduce stillbirths, close gaps in care and improve outcomes for moms and babies across the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cStillbirth is a deeply painful experience for mothers and families,\u201d said Representative Kelly, co-chair of the bipartisan Maternity Care Caucus.<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m incredibly thankful for Debbie\u2019s brave advocacy as she turns her pain into action so no other family will experience heartbreaking stillbirth. I\u2019m committed to delivering the healthy pregnancy and life every mother and baby deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cDespite spending the most money on healthcare per capita in the world, the United States has failed to make significant improvements when it comes to understanding and preventing stillbirths,\u201d said Representative Joyce. <\/strong>\u201cCongress must step up to prevent this avoidable loss of life. This legislation marks a long-overdue step forward in addressing stillbirths, advancing maternal and infant health, and ensuring the United States catches up to where it should be in prioritizing this critical issue. I am proud to again co-lead this bipartisan bill that will help save lives across the country.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cStillbirth is a quiet crisis that leaves too many families grieving without answers. As a dad of six, I can\u2019t imagine the pain of losing a child and I believe parents deserve better,\u201d said Representative Nunn. <\/strong>\u201cThis bill brings states and doctors together to close the gaps in research, improve data, and give families clearer paths to prevention. It\u2019s a commonsense, bipartisan step toward saving lives and strengthening care.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt is a tremendous honor to see the bipartisan Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education for Autumn Act introduced in the 119th Congress, thanks to Senate leaders Booker, Daines, Merkley, and Wicker. Their steadfast support\u2014and that of our 14 original co-sponsors\u2014is paving the way for long-overdue action to address our nation\u2019s stillbirth crisis. Fourteen years later, I\u2019m still here doing this work because I promised Autumn I would do all I could to spare other families the unimaginable grief of stillbirth. And it\u2019s that promise that keeps me here today!,\u201d dicho<\/strong> Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya, Autumn\u2019s mom.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

El SHINE for Autumn Act<\/em> would create the first comprehensive federal\u2013state partnership to reduce stillbirth by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n