Smucker, Davis Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Support Adoption Education
Washington, D.C. —Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11) and Rep. Don Davis (D-NC-1) are announcing the introduction of the Hospital Adoption Education Act, H.R. 1475. The legislation aims to provide the health care industry with information and understanding about adoption-sensitive care.
Women seeking prenatal care at hospitals often rely on medical staff for information about adoption at a critical point in their pregnancy. They deserve accurate information delivered by experts with compassion and understanding in a neutral setting that will allow women to choose to parent or place without coercion.
However, a majority of health care staff have not received education on adoption sensitivities and are unaware of how their words and actions could impact a prospective birth mother. Providing training for health care professionals and disseminating best practices to hospitals and birthing centers throughout the country will improve overall long-term health and emotional outcomes for the birth mother, the child she placed, and the adoptive family.
“Medical professionals should be able to provide needed care and information to women seeking to learn more about adoption. Convening adoption experts to widely share best practices about supporting prospective birth mothers wishing to learn about adoption will improve outcomes and wellbeing for all involved. I want to thank Rep. Davis for working with me to advance this important legislation,” said Rep. Smucker.
"The Hospital Adoption Education Act will ensure hospitals and birthing centers can provide adequate resources to expecting mothers," said Congressman Davis. "This will also provide training for the health care specialists who interact the most frequently and intimately with families pursuing adoption, including expectant mothers and potential adoptive families. This training, 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."
“Health care workers often play a key role in helping individuals with an unintended pregnancy, yet too often these health care workers don’t know how to provide accurate, non-directive information about adoption. We’re grateful to Rep. Smucker and Rep. Davis for their leadership on this bipartisan effort to ensure that health care workers have the ability to support expectant parents to understand and make a decision about adoption,” said Ryan Hanlon, President & CEO of the National Council for Adoption.
“Providing adoption training for healthcare professionals has never been more important, and I am so thankful to Rep. Smucker and Rep. Davis for leading such an important, bipartisan initiative. When training nurses in adoption-sensitive care, we often hear, "I didn't know. I wish I would have learned this sooner!" Healthcare providers and nurses have not received updated education in ethical adoption practice, nor have they received instruction in adoption-sensitive care at the bedside. Patients considering adoption deserve to be treated in a respectful, neutral, compassionate manner. This approach will allow patients to receive information without pressure to choose adoption or pressure to parent their child, which is essential to achieve informed consent and to protect and empower a vulnerable patient population,” said Rebecca Vahle, Founder and Executive Director of Family to Family Support Network.
# # #