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Senate Health Committee holds first hearing on bill to designate Sept. 19 Ohio Stillbirth Prevention Day
Summary
House Bill 4 would add section 5.2471 to the Ohio Revised Code to designate Sept. 19 as Stillbirth Prevention Day; sponsors and proponents cited Ohio's elevated stillbirth rates and racial disparities during the committee's first hearing.
The Senate Health Committee held a first hearing on House Bill 4, a measure that would enact section 5.2471 of the Ohio Revised Code to designate Sept. 19 as Ohio Stillbirth Prevention Day, sponsors and witnesses said.
Representative Holmes introduced the measure and said the awareness day is intended "to help target existing health care resources to those that are most in need, pregnant mothers and especially those with low income or limited access to health care." He told the committee that Ohio is a "statistical outlier with stillbirth and infant mortality rates of our black mothers and babies." He also said stakeholders hoped the awareness day would "accelerate improving birthing practices."
Sponsor testimony from Rick Thomas said the bill would add the specific statutory section and noted that National Stillbirth Prevention Day was first recognized by Congress in September 2022. Thomas told the committee that "in Ohio, there are an average of 883 stillbirths each year" and that research shows "nearly one third of them are preventable." He described the bill as an effort to initiate long-term conversation and support for affected families.
Committee testimony included statistics provided by witnesses: Representative Holmes said that in 2021 Ohio recorded 760 stillbirths and an average of 6.2 fetal deaths per 1,000 live births; he also said roughly 30% of mothers reporting a stillbirth identified as Black or African American, while that group represents about 13% of the state population. Thomas read an excerpt from an interview with Jasmine Abrams, an Ohio native who lost a child to stillbirth: "In that moment, when they put him on my chest, everything in me just wanted him to breathe," Thomas quoted.
Representative Holmes said proponents scheduled to testify included Pastor Bullock and his daughter, Jennifer Bullock, an anchor at Channel 4 News, who would offer personal accounts of loss and advocacy. The committee took no vote on the bill during the hearing and recorded the proceeding as a first hearing; sponsors told the committee they were committed to advancing the legislation in the General Assembly.
No formal action was taken by the committee at the hearing; the chair closed the first hearing and moved the agenda forward.
