Congress funds stillbirth research and data collection for first time
H.R. 5469 — SHINE for Autumn Act of 2025 · Filed by Young Kim (R-CA) · 97 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 18, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill authorizes $5 million annually (2026–2030) for states to conduct surveillance and collect data on stillbirths, and $1 million annually for the federal government to issue guidelines and educational materials on stillbirth prevention and risk factors. All data collected must be deidentified and comply with privacy law. The bill requires HHS to publish a public report on stillbirth guidelines within five years.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is straightforward federal grant funding and guideline development for stillbirth surveillance and education—a routine public health authorization with no deregulation, liability shields, or private carve-outs.
What the text implies
- Standardized stillbirth data collection across states may reveal disparities in stillbirth rates by race, geography, or socioeconomic status—potentially exposing systemic maternal health inequities and creating pressure for targeted interventions.
- Public awareness materials on stillbirth risk factors could shift clinical practice and patient behavior, but effectiveness depends on implementation and uptake by healthcare providers and families.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
state health departments; vital statistics units; public health research institutions