Bill providing adoption resources for healthcare industry offered by Smucker

Bipartisan legislation sponsored on March 8 by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) would provide the nation’s healthcare industry with information and resources related to adoption-sensitive care that could be passed on to expectant mothers. 

“Medical professionals should be able to provide needed care and information to women seeking to learn more about adoption,” Rep. Smucker said. “Convening adoption experts to widely share best practices about supporting prospective birth mothers wishing to learn about adoption will improve outcomes and well-being for all involved.”

Specifically, the Hospital Adoption Education Act, H.R. 1475, would direct the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and nationally disseminate accurate, relevant, and accessible resources to promote an understanding about sensitivities regarding adoption in the healthcare industry, according to the congressional record bill summary. Rep. Smucker introduced the bill alongside three original cosponsors, including U.S. Rep. Don Davis (D-NC).

Additionally, Rep. Davis said that the bill would provide training for the healthcare specialists who interact most frequently with families pursuing adoption, including expectant mothers and potential adoptive families. 

“This training,” he said, “along with the dissemination of best practices around the sensitivities of adoption, will improve the overall long-term health and emotional outcomes for the birth mother, the child placed, and the adoptive family.”

The National Council for Adoption and the Family to Family Support Network endorsed the measure.