STATE ACTION ALERTS

KANSAS: HB 2613/SB95 Meriden's Law - The Stillbirth Research and Dignity Act is currently pending in Kansas. Please contact your state legislators and tell them you want then to be a voice for our babies. Without citizens input these bills may die in committee. Please call, email, write or visit your state Representative and Senator. For more information contact Dustin Locke 913-787-1912

ILLINOIS: HB 0960 The Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth is currently pending in the state of Illnois. Please call, email, write or visit your state Representative and Senator.

WASHINGTON: HB1137 The MISSing Angel Act is currently pending in the state of Washington but has some issues. The bill improperly calls the certificate "Certificate of Stillbirth." This issue has had to be corrected in a few other states by additional bills to correct this name error that recognizes the baby's death instead of their birth. The bill also does not state that it will be issued retroactively to bereaved parents who previously did not have the birth of their baby recognized. Please contact your state legislators and tell them you want our babies births acknowledged with a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth. Without citizens input these bills may die in committee. Please call, email, write or visit your state Representative and Senator.

WEST VIRGINIA: HB2351 Kirstin's Bill is currently pending in West Virginia. This bill has been reworded to make requested corrections.

1st Breath and parents asked that the legislator reword and retitle this bill so that it can accomplish both their own goals, as well as protect the goals of the Missing Angel Act and CBRS as originally established. We also requested that the certificate be made retroactive. Please call, email, write or visit your state Representative and Senator.

NATIONAL ACTION ALERTS

Your help is needed – please sign up to join 1st Breath so we can keep you updated on urgent Calls to Action. Please share any feedback you may received from your Congressman or medical contact.

If you would like help in identifying your Representatives' or Senator's names and phone numbers you may follow these links:.

www.house.gov (by zip)
www.senate.gov (by state)

LEGISLATIVE ALERT - Important legislation needs your help to encourage co-sponsors!

Please write, email, call or visit your Congressperson!

Please contact your US Senators and US Representative to let them know you would like them to please sign on as a co-sponsor. Let the nation know that ALL our babies are precious. You may use the links above, or you may look up your legislators at the following:

Visit www.house.gov and use your zip code to directly link you to your US Representative’s website. Most US Representative's can be emailed from their website. If at all possible, please call and/or write them also.

Visit www.senate.gov to contact your two state Senators. Select your state in the pull-down menu at the upper right hand corner of the page and select "Go". This will usually provide links that allow you to directly email each of your Senators, or to be connected directly to your Senators’ websites. Again, if possible, please call and/or write them also.

LANCET SERIES ALERT

Your help is needed - please help us get the word out about the Lancet Series on Stillbirth. We need to make media contacts across the nation and would also like to share the papers with medical professionals as well. This will be helpful with advocacy efforts on behalf of our nation's babies and families.

***Outdated Legislative Alert***

SIDS Data Enhancement and Awareness Act
(Passed with massive changes that stripped the bill of its intent.)

Sadly, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) passed away in 2013. As the lead sponsor of this bill, Lautenberg was a true advocate for our nation's most precious resource -- our children. In his memory, let's continue the fight to get bills pertaining to Stillbirth awareness and research signed into law?

Learn more and act today!

This is federal legislation that combined the efforts of The Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act (Peter King (R-NY and SIDS legislation originated by then IL Senator Barack Obama. It holds promise of collecting comprehensive ad consistent data on thousands of babies who die each year inexplicably to stillbirth and sudden unexpected death in infancy and childhood (SIDS/SUID/SUDC).

Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act of 2013 - was to amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to establish and maintain a scientific registry of stillbirths in the United States, which shall include for each stillbirth information on the stillborn fetus and the mother's health and pregnancy as colleted and submitted by states on the U.S. Standard Report of Fetal Death.

Requires the Secretary to: (1) provide for the development of a standard definition of stillbirth and a standard protocol for stillbirth data collection and surveillance, and (2) carry out a national campaign to increase public and state awareness of such definition and protocol and public awareness and knowledge of stillbirths.

Expresses the sense of Congress that the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) should increase the allocation of funds and other resources for stillbirth research.

The Stillbirth Research and Awareness Act 2013 (HR2365)

Congressman Pete King filed the Stillbirth Research and Awareness Act of 2013. This bill was specifically focused on stillbirth in the United States. A campaign was done to increase the number of co-sponsors on this bill.

Please tell (your Representative’s/Senator’s name) that we should not balance the budget on the backs of babies and our nation’s most vulnerable.

Members of Congress need to hear from you today. They listen to constituents and it is imperative they know how their votes will impact mothers and children in their jurisdictions.

Follow these links to identify your representatives’ names and phone numbers.

www.house.gov (by zip)
www.senate.gov (by state)

While the urgency of the situation requires immediate phone calls, you may want to follow-up with an email or fax to reiterate your point. We hope you will also share this email with everyone you know and urge them to contact their Members of Congress as well!

Please share any feedback you receive with AMCHP staff about your contacts as this will be helpful as they continue their advocacy efforts on behalf of our nation’s babies and families.

For more information, or to share feedback, please contact Joshua Brown (jrbown@amchp.org) or Brent Ewig (bewig@amchp.org) via email or at (202) 775-0436.

Preventing Stillbirth and SUID Act of 2008 - IL Senator Barack Obama

https://votesmart.org/public-statement/351099/obama-introduces-preventing-stillbirth-and-suid-act-of-2008#.Wj07dminFPY

The Sudden Unexpected Death Data Enhancement and Awareness Act (S314 & HR669)

The bills S 314 & HR 669 are ready to present. It is easy to contact your legislators to tell them how you feel about these bills. Just use this link for the quick on-line form SUDDEA Bills. This crucial legislation will improve the investigations of all children who die unexpectedly under the age of 4 years as well as those who are stillborn. You may read the Congressional Press Release for more information and details.

Thanks to the hard work of Senator Frank Lautenberg's office (D-NJ), the Sudden Unexpected Death Data Enhancement and Awareness Act of 2013 was filed in the Senate. Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr (D-NJ) has introduce the bill in the House of Representatives. These bills will need co-sponsors in order to be successful. The more co-sponsors they have, the easier it will be to get this important legislation passed!