Senate Health Committee holds first hearing on bill to designate Sept. 19 as Ohio Stillbirth Prevention Day

The Ohio Senate Health Committee held a first hearing on House Bill 4, a bill to enact section 5.2471 of the Ohio Revised Code to designate Sept. 19 as Ohio's Stillbirth Prevention Day.

Representative Holmes introduced the bill and said the measure is intended to “use this awareness day 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 said the bill responds to disparities in stillbirth and infant mortality rates among Black mothers and their babies.

Rick Thomas, providing sponsor testimony, told the committee the bill “seeks to enact section 5.2471 of the Ohio Revised Code to designate September 19 as Ohio's stillbirth prevention date” and that the federal government recognized National Stillbirth Prevention Day in 2022. Thomas said Ohio averages 883 stillbirths a year and cited research he said shows nearly one-third are preventable. He urged the committee to begin a broader conversation about prevention and support for grieving families.

Witnesses were announced to appear as proponents, including Pastor Bullock and his daughter Jennifer Bullock, a Channel 4 news anchor, who were described in committee remarks as having personal experience with stillbirth. Representative Holmes and Thomas provided multiple statistics by attribution to their testimony: "1 in 7175 births are affected by stillbirth each year and approximately 21,000 annually," that in Ohio 2021 there were 760 fetal deaths, an average of "6.2 fetal deaths per thousand live births," and that "30 percent of the mothers reporting stillbirth identified as black or African American," while that group represents about 13 percent of the state's population. Thomas and Holmes said stillbirth is more common among people with lower socioeconomic status and among those with health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, smoking during pregnancy, prior pregnancy loss, and older maternal age.

Committee members did not record a committee vote on the bill during the hearing. Thomas said the bill had unanimous support in the House health committee and indicated sponsors would press to move the measure through the General Assembly.

No formal amendments or motions were recorded at the hearing; proponents were listed to testify and sponsors committed to answering committee questions as needed.