SHINE for Autumn Act Authorizes $5M Annually for States to Improve Stillbirth Data Collection

The Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education for Autumn Act of 2025 (SHINE for Autumn Act) is focused on tackling a devastating public health issue: stillbirths. At its core, this bill aims to upgrade the national infrastructure for stillbirth research, data collection, and public education. It’s essentially a federal mandate to get smarter about why stillbirths happen and how to prevent them.

The Data Upgrade: $5 Million for State Surveillance

Section 2 is where the heavy lifting happens. It authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to offer grants to states—$5 million annually from fiscal years 2026 through 2030—specifically to improve stillbirth surveillance and data quality. Think of this as giving state health departments the budget and tools they need to stop relying on patchy records and start building a clear, standardized picture. States can use this money to pull together information from existing review boards and beef up their local public health units. This means they’ll be tracking specific risk factors and outcomes, which is crucial for identifying patterns.

Crucially, this bill understands modern privacy concerns. Any data collected using these federal dollars must be de-identified. That means no names, no addresses, and no way to trace the information back to a specific patient or doctor. For the average person, this is key: the government wants better data to save lives, but it’s required to do so without sacrificing patient privacy.

Standardizing the Story: Clinical Details and Consent

Beyond the grant money, the bill requires the Secretary to create clear national guidelines for state health departments and vital statistics units. These guidelines will dictate how healthcare providers should collect stillbirth data. If the patient consents, this data collection should include detailed clinical history, postmortem exam results, and placental pathology reports. This is a game-changer for researchers. Right now, data collection is often a patchwork, making national comparisons difficult. By standardizing the required details, researchers will finally have the comprehensive, apples-to-apples data needed to pinpoint causes and develop targeted prevention strategies. This provision recognizes that the most valuable data often comes from detailed medical records, provided the patient agrees to share it.

Education and Transparency: What You Need to Know

Section 3 focuses on getting the information out to the public. The Secretary is mandated to develop and publish educational materials about stillbirths and their risk factors, authorizing an additional $1 million annually for this purpose. This isn't just a dusty report; it’s about creating accessible information for the public. Furthermore, within five years of the bill becoming law, HHS must publish a comprehensive online report containing these educational guidelines. For expectant parents, this means better, more consistent information about risks and warning signs will be available, helping them make informed decisions and potentially leading to earlier intervention.

This bill is a straightforward investment in public health infrastructure. It recognizes that you can't solve a problem you can't accurately measure. By funding better data collection and requiring standardized reporting—all while protecting patient identity—it sets the stage for meaningful research and, hopefully, a reduction in stillbirth rates across the country.