I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8801 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide more opportunities for 

mothers to succeed, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 21, 2024 

Mrs. FISCHBACH (for herself, Mrs. HARSHBARGER, Ms. TENNEY, Mrs. 

HINSON, and Mr. LAMBORN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide more 

opportunities for mothers to succeed, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘MOMS Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—FEDERAL CLEARINGHOUSE OF RESOURCES FOR 

EXPECTING MOMS 

Sec. 101. Pregnancy.gov. 

Sec. 102. National list of licensed child placement agencies. 

Sec. 103. List of funding opportunities available to pregnancy support centers. 

TITLE II—IMPROVING ACCESS TO PRENATAL AND POSTNATAL 

RESOURCES 

Sec. 201. Positive alternatives for women. 

Sec. 202. Improving access to prenatal and postnatal telehealth care. 

TITLE III—UNBORN CHILD SUPPORT 

Sec. 301. Child support enforcement on behalf of unborn children. 

1 TITLE I—FEDERAL CLEARING2 HOUSE OF RESOURCES FOR 

3 EXPECTING MOMS 

4 SEC. 101. PREGNANCY.GOV. 

5 The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et 

6 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘TITLE XXXIV—RESOURCE 

8 DIRECTORY FOR MOMS 

9 ‘‘SEC. 3401. ESTABLISHMENT OF PREGNANCY.GOV 

10 WEBSITE. 

11 ‘‘(a) WEBSITE.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

12 of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall publish 

13 a public website entitled ‘pregnancy.gov’. The Secretary 

14 may not delegate implementation or administration of the 

15 website below the level of the Office of the Secretary. The 

16 website shall include the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) A clearinghouse of relevant resources 

2 available for pregnant and postpartum women, and 

3 women parenting young children. 

4 ‘‘(2) A series of questions through which a user 

5 is able to generate a list of relevant resources of in6 terest within the user’s ZIP Code. 

7 ‘‘(3) A means to direct the user to identify 

8 whether to list the relevant resources of interest that 

9 are available online or within 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 

10 miles of the user. 

11 ‘‘(4) A mechanism for users to take an assess12 ment through the website and provide consent to use 

13 the user’s contact information, which the Secretary 

14 may use to conduct outreach via phone or email to 

15 follow up with users on additional resources that 

16 would be helpful for the users to review. 

17 ‘‘(b) RESOURCE LIST AGGREGATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall invite 

19 each State to provide recommendations of relevant 

20 resources referred to in subsection (a)(3) for such 

21 State. 

22 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR MAKING RECOMMENDA23 TIONS.—The Secretary shall develop criteria to pro24 vide to the States to determine whether resources 

25 recommended as described in paragraph (1) should 


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1 appear on the website. Such criteria shall include the 

2 requirement that the relevant resource is not a pro3 hibited entity. 

4 ‘‘(3) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

6 provide grants to States to establish or support 

7 a system that— 

8 ‘‘(i) aggregates relevant resources re9 ferred to in subsection (a)(3), in accord10 ance with the criteria developed under 

11 paragraph (2); and 

12 ‘‘(ii) may be coordinated, to the extent 

13 determined appropriate by the State, by a 

14 statewide, regionally-based, or community15 based public or private entity. 

16 ‘‘(B) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to re17 ceive a grant under subparagraph (A), a State 

18 shall submit an application to the Secretary at 

19 such time, in such manner, and containing such 

20 information as the Secretary may require, in21 cluding a plan for outreach and awareness ac22 tivities, and a list of relevant resources that 

23 would be included in the State system sup24 ported by the grant. 


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1 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION REGARDING CERTAIN ENTI2 TIES.—Relevant resources listed on the website, and any 

3 additional resources promoted by the Secretary, may not 

4 include any resource offered by a prohibited entity. No 

5 prohibited entity may receive a grant provided under sub6 section (b)(3). 

7 ‘‘(d) SERVICES IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.—The 

8 Secretary shall ensure that the website provides the widest 

9 possible access to services for families who speak lan10 guages other than English. 

11 ‘‘(e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

13 after the date on which the website is established 

14 under this section, the Secretary shall submit to 

15 Congress a report on— 

16 ‘‘(A) the traffic of the website; 

17 ‘‘(B) user feedback on the accessibility and 

18 helpfulness of the website in tailoring to the 

19 user’s needs; 

20 ‘‘(C) insights on gaps in relevant resources 

21 with respect to services for pregnant and 

22 postpartum women, or women parenting young 

23 children; 

24 ‘‘(D) suggestions on how to improve user 

25 experience and accessibility based on user feedVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:17 Aug 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8801.IH H8801

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1 back and missing resources that would be help2 ful to include in future updates; and 

3 ‘‘(E) certification that no prohibited enti4 ties are listed as a relevant resource or are in 

5 receipt of a grant under subsection (b)(3). 

6 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The report under 

7 paragraph (1) shall not include any personal identi8 fying information regarding individuals who have 

9 used the website. 

10 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

11 carry out this section, there are authorized to be appro12 priated such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

13 years 2024 through 2029. 

14 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) ABORTION.—The term ‘abortion’ means 

16 the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, 

17 drug, or any other substance or device to inten18 tionally— 

19 ‘‘(A) kill the unborn child of a woman 

20 known to be pregnant; or 

21 ‘‘(B) terminate the pregnancy of a woman 

22 known to be pregnant, with an intention other 

23 than— 


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1 ‘‘(i) after viability, to produce a live 

2 birth and preserve the life and health of 

3 the child born alive; 

4 ‘‘(ii) to remove a dead unborn child; 

5 or 

6 ‘‘(iii) to treat an ectopic pregnancy. 

7 ‘‘(2) BORN ALIVE.—The term ‘born alive’ has 

8 the meaning given such term in section 8(b) of title 

9 1, United States Code. 

10 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITED ENTITY.—The term ‘prohib11 ited entity’ means an entity, including its affiliates, 

12 subsidiaries, successors, and clinics, that performs, 

13 induces, refers for, or counsels in favor of abortions, 

14 or provides financial support to any other organiza15 tion that conducts such activities. 

16 ‘‘(4) RELEVANT RESOURCES.—The term ‘rel17 evant resources’ means the Federal, State, local gov18 ernmental, and private resources that serve pregnant 

19 and postpartum women, or women parenting young 

20 children in the categories of the following topics: 

21 ‘‘(A) Mentorship opportunities, including 

22 pregnancy and parenting help and case man23 agement resources. 

24 ‘‘(B) Health and well-being services, in25 cluding women’s medical services such as obVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:17 Aug 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8801.IH H8801

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1 stetrical and gynecological support services for 

2 women, abortion pill reversal, breastfeeding, 

3 general health services, primary care, and den4 tal care. 

5 ‘‘(C) Financial assistance, work opportuni6 ties, nutrition assistance, childcare, and edu7 cation opportunities for parents. 

8 ‘‘(D) Material or legal support, including 

9 transportation, food, nutrition, clothing, house10 hold goods, baby supplies, housing, shelters, 

11 maternity homes, tax preparation, legal support 

12 for child support, family leave, breastfeeding 

13 protections, and custody issues. 

14 ‘‘(E) Recovery and mental health services, 

15 including services with respect to addiction or 

16 suicide intervention, intimate partner violence, 

17 sexual assault, rape, sex trafficking, and coun18 seling for women and families surrounding un19 expected loss of a child. 

20 ‘‘(F) Prenatal diagnostic services, includ21 ing disability support organizations, medical 

22 interventions for a baby, perinatal hospice re23 sources, pregnancy and infant loss support, and 

24 literature on pregnancy wellness. 


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1 ‘‘(G) Healing and support services for 

2 abortion survivors and their families. 

3 ‘‘(H) Services providing childcare, adop4 tion, foster care, and short term childcare serv5 ices and resources. 

6 ‘‘(I) Comprehensive information on alter7 natives to abortion. 

8 ‘‘(J) Information about abortion risks, in9 cluding complications and failures. 

10 ‘‘(K) Links to information on child devel11 opment from moment of conception. 

12 ‘‘(5) UNBORN CHILD.—The term ‘unborn child’ 

13 has the meaning given such term in section 1841(d) 

14 of title 18, United States Code. 

15 ‘‘(6) WEBSITE.—The term ‘website’ means the 

16 public website entitled ‘pregnancy.gov’ required to be 

17 established under subsection (a).’’. 

18 SEC. 102. NATIONAL LIST OF LICENSED CHILD PLACEMENT 

19 AGENCIES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 474 of the Social Security 

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 674) is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(h) NATIONAL LIST OF LICENSED CHILD PLACE24 MENT AGENCIES.— 

25 ‘‘(1) STATE REPORTING.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Janu2 ary 1 of each fiscal year, a State with a plan 

3 approved under this part for the fiscal year 

4 shall submit to the Secretary a list of private 

5 child placement agencies that, as of the end of 

6 the preceding fiscal year, were licensed or ac7 credited by, and in good standing with, the 

8 State and exempt from Federal income tax by 

9 reason of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev10 enue Code of 1986. 

11 ‘‘(B) CHILD PLACEMENT AGENCY.—In 

12 subparagraph (A), the term ‘child placement 

13 agency’ means an agency that places children in 

14 prospective adoptive homes. 

15 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL LIST.—The Secretary, through 

16 the United States Children’s Bureau, shall compile 

17 and maintain on the public website entitled ‘preg18 nancy.gov’ required to be established under title 

19 XXXIV of the Public Health Service Act, a publicly 

20 available list consisting of each list most recently 

21 submitted by a State under paragraph (1). 

22 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not 

23 later than the 2nd December 31 after the date of 

24 the enactment of this subsection, and annually 

25 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the ConVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:17 Aug 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8801.IH H8801

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1 gress a written report that contains the list main2 tained under paragraph (2) and identifies any child 

3 placement agency that is licensed by a State and is 

4 not on the list, and a specification of any discipli5 nary actions that a State has taken against a private 

6 child placement agency.’’. 

7 (b) LOSS OF ELIGIBILITY FOR ADOPTION AND

8 LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR FAIL9 URE OF STATE TO COMPLY WITH LIST SUBMISSION RE10 QUIREMENT.—Section 473A(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 673b(b)) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

13 (3); 

14 (2) by striking the period at the end of para15 graph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(5) the State has complied with section 

18 474(h)(1) with respect to the preceding fiscal year.’’. 

19 SEC. 103. LIST OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE 

20 TO PREGNANCY SUPPORT CENTERS. 

21 Title XXXIV of the Public Health Service Act (as 

22 added by section 101) is amended by adding at the end 

23 the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 3402. LIST OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE 

2 TO PREGNANCY SUPPORT CENTERS. 

3 ‘‘The Secretary shall compile and maintain on the 

4 public website entitled ‘pregnancy.gov’ required to be es5 tablished under section 3401, a publicly available list of 

6 Federal funding opportunities available to nonprofit and 

7 health care entities for pregnancy support services that 

8 offer or provide the relevant resources (as defined in sub9 section (g) of such section).’’. 

10 TITLE II—IMPROVING ACCESS 

11 TO PRENATAL AND POST12 NATAL RESOURCES 

13 SEC. 201. POSITIVE ALTERNATIVES FOR WOMEN. 

14 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.— 

15 (1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of grants under 

16 this section shall be to support, encourage, and as17 sist women— 

18 (A) to carry their pregnancies to term; and 

19 (B) to care for themselves and their babies 

20 after birth. 

21 (2) GRANTS.—For the purpose described in 

22 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall award grants to 

23 eligible entities described in subsection (b) to provide 

24 information on, referral to, and direct services as de25 scribed in subsection (c). 

26 (b) ELIGIBILITY.— 


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1 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible for a 

2 grant under this section, an entity shall— 

3 (A) be a nonprofit organization; 

4 (B) support, encourage, and assist women 

5 as described in subsection (a)(1); 

6 (C) agree to be subject to such monitoring 

7 and review as the Secretary may require under 

8 subsection (g); 

9 (D) agree to not charge women for services 

10 provided through the grant; 

11 (E) provide each pregnant woman coun12 seled through the grant with accurate informa13 tion on the developmental characteristics of ba14 bies and of unborn children, including offering 

15 printed information; and 

16 (F) have a privacy policy and procedures 

17 in place to ensure that— 

18 (i) the name, address, telephone num19 ber, or any other information that might 

20 identify any woman seeking services sup21 ported through the grant is not made pub22 lic or shared with any other entity without 

23 the written consent of the woman; and 

24 (ii) the grantee adheres to require25 ments comparable to those applicable 


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1 under the HIPAA privacy regulation (as 

2 defined in section 1180(b)(3) of the Social 

3 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d–9(b)(3))) 

4 to covered entities (as defined for purposes 

5 of such regulation). 

6 (2) INELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity shall be 

7 ineligible to receive a grant under this section if the 

8 entity or any affiliate, subsidiary, successor, or clinic 

9 thereof— 

10 (A) performs, induces, refers for, or coun11 sels in favor of abortions; or 

12 (B) provides financial support to any other 

13 entity that conducts any activity described in 

14 subparagraph (A). 

15 (3) FINANCIAL RECORDS.—As a condition on 

16 receipt of a grant under this section, an eligible enti17 ty shall agree to maintain and make available to the 

18 Secretary records, including financial records, that 

19 demonstrate that the entity satisfies the require20 ments of paragraph (1) and is not ineligible by oper21 ation of paragraph (2). 

22 (c) COVERED SERVICES.— 

23 (1) REQUIRED INFORMATION AND REFER24 RAL.—For the purpose described in subsection 

25 (a)(1), an eligible entity receiving a grant under this 


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1 section shall use the grant to provide to pregnant 

2 and postpartum women, or women parenting young 

3 children, information on, and referral to, each of the 

4 following services: 

5 (A) Medical care. 

6 (B) Nutritional services. 

7 (C) Housing assistance. 

8 (D) Adoption services. 

9 (E) Education and employment assistance, 

10 including services that support the continuation 

11 and completion of high school. 

12 (F) Child care assistance. 

13 (G) Parenting education and support serv14 ices. 

15 (H) Voluntary substance abuse counseling 

16 and treatment. 

17 (2) PERMISSIBLE DIRECT PROVISION OF SERV18 ICES.—For the purpose described in subsection 

19 (a)(1), in addition to using a grant under this sec20 tion as described in paragraph (1), an eligible entity 

21 receiving a grant under this section may use the 

22 grant for the direct provision of one or more services 

23 listed in paragraph (1). 

24 (d) PROHIBITED USES OF FUNDS.—None of the 

25 funds made available under this section shall be used— 


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1 (1) for health benefits coverage that includes 

2 coverage of abortion; 

3 (2) for providing or assisting a woman to obtain 

4 adoption services from a provider of adoption serv5 ices that is not licensed; and 

6 (3) for any of the activities described in sub7 section (b)(2). 

8 (e) CONSIDERATION.—In selecting the recipients of 

9 grants under this section, the Secretary shall consider 

10 each applicant’s demonstrated capacity in providing serv11 ices to assist a pregnant woman in carrying her pregnancy 

12 to term. 

13 (f) MONITORING AND REVIEW.—The Secretary 

14 shall— 

15 (1) monitor and review each program funded 

16 through a grant under this section to ensure that 

17 the grantee carefully adheres to— 

18 (A) the purpose described in subsection 

19 (a)(1); and 

20 (B) the requirements of this section; and 

21 (2) cease to fund a program under this section 

22 if the grantee fails to adhere to such purpose and re23 quirements. 

24 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ABORTION.—The term ‘‘abortion’’ means 

2 the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, 

3 drug, or any other substance or device to inten4 tionally— 

5 (A) kill the unborn child of a woman 

6 known to be pregnant; or 

7 (B) terminate the pregnancy of a woman 

8 known to be pregnant, with an intention other 

9 than— 

10 (i) after viability, to produce a live 

11 birth and preserve the life and health of 

12 the child born alive; 

13 (ii) to remove a dead unborn child; or 

14 (iii) to treat an ectopic pregnancy. 

15 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

17 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

18 out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated 

19 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

20 2024 through 2029. 

21 SEC. 202. IMPROVING ACCESS TO PRENATAL AND POST22 NATAL TELEHEALTH CARE. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award grants 

24 to, or enter into cooperative agreements with, eligible enti25 ties to purchase equipment necessary for carrying out atVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:17 Aug 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8801.IH H8801

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1 home telehealth visits for screening, monitoring, and man2 agement of prenatal and postnatal care for the purpose 

3 of improving maternal and infant health outcomes, and 

4 reducing maternal mortality, by improving access to care 

5 in rural areas, frontier counties, medically underserved 

6 areas, or jurisdictions of Indian Tribes and Tribal organi7 zations. 

8 (b) INELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity shall be ineli9 gible to receive a grant or enter into a cooperative agree10 ment under this section if the entity or any affiliate, sub11 sidiary, successor, or clinic thereof— 

12 (1) performs, induces, refers for, or counsels in 

13 favor of abortions; or 

14 (2) provides financial support to any other enti15 ty that conducts any activity described in paragraph 

16 (1). 

17 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—A recipient of a grant or coop18 erative agreement under this section shall use the award 

19 funds as described in subsection (a), which may include 

20 purchasing or providing equipment necessary for carrying 

21 out at-home telehealth visits (such as remote physiologic 

22 devices and related services, including pulse oximeters, 

23 blood pressure cuffs, scales, and blood glucose monitors) 

24 to screen, monitor, and manage prenatal and postnatal 


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1 care at home by means of telehealth visits and services 

2 for the purpose described in subsection (a). 

3 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Sep4 tember 30, 2028, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 

5 a report on activities supported through grants and coop6 erative agreements under this section, including— 

7 (1) a description of the activities conducted 

8 pursuant to such grants and cooperative agreements; 

9 and 

10 (2) an analysis of the effects of such grants and 

11 cooperative agreements on improving prenatal and 

12 postnatal care in areas and jurisdictions described in 

13 subsection (a). 

14 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti16 ty’’ means an entity that provides prenatal care, 

17 labor care, birthing, or postpartum care services in 

18 a rural area, a frontier county, a medically under19 served area, or the jurisdiction of an Indian Tribe 

20 or Tribal organization. 

21 (2) FRONTIER COUNTY.—The term ‘‘frontier 

22 county’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

23 1886(d)(3)(E)(iii)(III) of the Social Security Act 

24 (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(3)(E)(iii)(III)). 


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1 (3) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 

2 The terms ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ and ‘‘Tribal organiza3 tion’’ have the meanings given such terms in section 

4 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 

5 Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

6 (4) MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED AREA.—The 

7 term ‘‘medically underserved area’’ means a health 

8 professional shortage area designated under section 

9 332 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 254e). 

11 (5) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘‘rural area’’ has 

12 the meaning given such term in section 330J(e) of 

13 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c– 

14 15(e)). 

15 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

17 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

18 out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated 

19 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

20 2024 through 2029. 


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1 TITLE III—UNBORN CHILD 

2 SUPPORT 

3 SEC. 301. CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT ON BEHALF OF 

4 UNBORN CHILDREN. 

5 (a) STATE PLAN AMENDMENT.—Section 454 of the 

6 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 654) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (4)(A)— 

8 (A) in clause (i)— 

9 (i) by inserting ‘‘, including an unborn 

10 child,’’ after ‘‘child’’; and 

11 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semi12 colon; and 

13 (B) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘, including 

14 an unborn child’’ after ‘‘other child’’; 

15 (2) in paragraph (33), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

16 the semicolon; 

17 (3) in paragraph (34), by striking the period 

18 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

19 (4) by inserting after paragraph (34), the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(35) provide that the State will establish and 

22 enforce child support obligations of the biological fa23 ther of an unborn child (and subsequent to the birth 

24 of the child) to the mother of such child provided 

25 that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the mother has requested payment of 

2 such child support obligations; 

3 ‘‘(B) the start date for such obligations 

4 may begin with the first month in which the 

5 child was conceived, as determined by a physi6 cian (and shall begin with that month if the 

7 mother so requests); 

8 ‘‘(C) payments for such obligations may be 

9 retroactively collected or awarded, including in 

10 the case where paternity is established subse11 quent to the birth of the child; 

12 ‘‘(D) the payment amount for such obliga13 tions shall be determined by a court, in con14 sultation with the mother, taking into account 

15 the best interests of the mother and child; 

16 ‘‘(E) any measure to establish the pater17 nity of a child (born or unborn) shall not be re18 quired without the consent of the mother; and 

19 ‘‘(F) any measure to establish the pater20 nity of an unborn child shall not be taken if the 

21 measure poses any risk of harm to the child if 

22 unborn.’’; and 

23 (5) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘For 

24 purposes of paragraphs (4) and (35), the term ‘un25 born child’ means a member of the species homo 


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1 sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried 

2 in the womb.’’. 

3 (b) LIMITATION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.—Section 

4 1115 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1315) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

7 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘In the case of’’ and in8 serting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (c), in the 

9 case of’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b)(1), in the matter pre11 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘In the case 

12 of’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection 

13 (c), in the case of’’; and 

14 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(c) No experimental, pilot, or demonstration project 

17 undertaken under subsection (a) to assist in promoting the 

18 objectives of part D of title IV, may permit modifications 

19 of paragraphs (4)(A)(ii) and (35) of section 454 to estab20 lish and enforce child support obligations of the biological 

21 father of an unborn child. For purposes of the preceding 

22 sentence, the term ‘unborn child’ means a member of the 

23 species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who 

24 is carried in the womb.’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall take effect on the date that is 2 years 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act and shall apply 

4 to payments under part D of title IV of the Social Security 

5 Act (42 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) for calendar quarters begin6 ning on or after such date. 

Æ 


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