I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3112 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase the provision of scientif-
ically sound information and support services to patients receiving a 
positive test diagnosis for Down syndrome or other prenatally diagnosed 
conditions. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 19, 2007 
Mr. SENSENBRENNER (for himself, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, and Mr. SES-
SIONS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase the 
provision of scientifically sound information and support 
services to patients receiving a positive test diagnosis 
for Down syndrome or other prenatally diagnosed condi-
tions. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prenatally Diagnosed 
Condition Awareness Act of 2007’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
(1) Pregnant women who choose to undergo 
prenatal genetic testing should have access to timely, 
scientific, and nondirective counseling about the con-
ditions being tested for and the accuracy of such 
tests, from health care professionals qualified to pro-
vide and interpret these tests. Informed consent is a 
critical component of all genetic testing. 
(2) A recent, peer-reviewed study and two re-
ports from the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention on prenatal testing found a deficiency in the 
data needed to understand the epidemiology of pre-
natally diagnosed conditions, to monitor trends accu-
rately, and to increase the effectiveness of health 
intervention. 
(b) PURPOSES.—It is the purpose of this Act, after 
the diagnosis of a fetus with Down syndrome or other pre-
natally diagnosed conditions, to— 
(1) increase patient referrals to providers of key 
support services for women who have received a 
positive test diagnosis for Down syndrome, or other 
prenatally diagnosed conditions, as well as to provide 
up-to-date, science-based information about life-ex-
pectancy, development potential, and quality of life 
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for a child born with Down syndrome or other pre-
natally diagnosed condition; 
(2) provide networks of support through a Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention patient and 
provider outreach program; 
(3) improve available data by incorporating in-
formation directly revealed by prenatal testing into 
existing State-based surveillance programs for birth 
defects and prenatally diagnosed conditions; and 
(4) ensure that patients receive up-to-date, sci-
entific information about the accuracy of the test. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 
ACT. 
Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 399R. SUPPORT FOR PATIENTS RECEIVING A POSI-
TIVE TEST DIAGNOSIS OF DOWN SYNDROME 
OR OTHER PRENATALLY DIAGNOSED CONDI-
TIONS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) DOWN SYNDROME.—The term ‘Down syn-
drome’ refers to a chromosomal disorder caused by 
an error in cell division that results in the presence 
of an extra whole or partial copy of chromosome 21. 
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‘‘(2) HEALTH
CARE
PROVIDER.—The term 
‘health care provider’ means any person or entity re-
quired by State or Federal law or regulation to be 
licensed, registered, or certified to provide health 
care services, and who is so licensed, registered, or 
certified. 
‘‘(3) PRENATALLY
DIAGNOSED
CONDITION.— 
The term ‘prenatally diagnosed condition’ means any 
fetal health condition identified by prenatal genetic 
testing or prenatal screening procedures. 
‘‘(4) PRENATAL
TEST.—The term ‘prenatal 
test’ means diagnostic or screening tests offered to 
pregnant women seeking routine prenatal care that 
are administered on a required or recommended 
basis by a health care provider based on medical his-
tory, family background, ethnic background, pre-
vious test results, or other risk factors. 
‘‘(b) INFORMATION AND SUPPORT SERVICES.—The 
Secretary, acting through the Director of the National In-
stitutes of Health, the Director of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, or the Administrator of the 
Health Resources and Services Administration, may au-
thorize and oversee certain activities, including the award-
ing of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, to— 
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‘‘(1) collect, synthesize, and disseminate current 
scientific information relating to Down syndrome or 
other prenatally diagnosed conditions; and 
‘‘(2) coordinate the provision of, and access to, 
new or existing supportive services for patients re-
ceiving a positive test diagnosis for Down syndrome 
or other prenatally diagnosed conditions, including— 
‘‘(A) the establishment of a resource tele-
phone hotline and Internet website accessible to 
patients receiving a positive test result; 
‘‘(B) the establishment of a clearinghouse 
of scientific information, clinical course, life ex-
pectancy, development potential, and quality of 
life relating to Down syndrome or other pre-
natally diagnosed conditions; 
‘‘(C) the establishment of national and 
local peer-support programs; 
‘‘(D) the establishment of a national reg-
istry, or network of local registries, of families 
willing to adopt newborns with Down syndrome 
or other prenatally diagnosed conditions, and 
links to adoption agencies willing to place ba-
bies with Down syndrome or other prenatally 
diagnosed conditions, with families willing to 
adopt; and 
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