Congress designates stillbirth awareness day, spotlights racial health disparities
H.Res. 739 — Supporting the designation of September 19, 2025, as "National Stillbirth Prevention and Awareness Day", recognizing tens of thousands of families in the United States that have endured a stillbirth, and seizing the opportunity to keep other families from experiencing the same tragedy. · Filed by Ashley Hinson (R-IA) · 1 cosponsor · 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 resolution designates September 19, 2025, as 'National Stillbirth Prevention and Awareness Day' to recognize families affected by stillbirth and promote prevention efforts. It calls on the President to issue a proclamation encouraging awareness programs and evidence-based prevention activities, and references the 2024 Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act that allocated federal resources for stillbirth research and prevention.
Why we flagged it
This is a commemorative resolution designating a national awareness day for stillbirth prevention. It carries no legislative mandate, appropriation, or regulatory change—only a symbolic designation and a request for presidential proclamation to raise public awareness of a documented maternal health crisis.
What the text implies
- The resolution explicitly references the 2024 Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act (Public Law 118–69), which has already allocated federal resources; this resolution amplifies that law's visibility and may increase political pressure for implementation and enforcement.
- By naming specific racial disparities (Black, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Hispanic families), the resolution frames stillbirth prevention as a health equity issue, potentially supporting future targeted federal health interventions.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who it affects
The resolution promotes public health awareness of a serious maternal health crisis (21,000+ annual stillbirths in the US) and explicitly highlights racial disparities in birth outcomes. It supports evidence-based prevention efforts and federal research funding without imposing costs on ordinary citizens—it is purely a symbolic designation paired with a call for awareness and existing federal action.