Senators Collins, Murray, Baldwin Introduce Bill to Reauthorize Substance Use Disorder Prevention Programs for Pregnant and Postpartum Women

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), joined U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to introduce the bipartisan Promoting Maternal and Child Health Through Substance Use Prevention Act to reauthorize key prenatal and postnatal health initiatives.  Those initiatives were established in the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act, comprehensive legislation Senator Collins helped pass in 2018 to address the opioid crisis.

The legislation would extend the portion of the SUPPORT Act that authorizes programs carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to research and prevent substance use disorder among pregnant and postpartum women for five years. These CDC programs support data collection on prenatal substance abuse, research on prenatal and postnatal substance abuse prevention, evaluation of treatment and cessation efforts, and public outreach and education efforts.

Maine has the second highest rate of infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome in the country. In over half of Maine’s counties, more than 9% of infants are born substance exposed.

"Ensuring the health of expectant mothers is the best preemptive measure we can take to support the wellbeing of both the mother and our next generation,” said Senator Collins. “This legislation would ensure that critical research, data collection, and educational programs on the effects of prenatal substance use continue, and help to reduce the number of babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome in Maine and across the country.”

“When I was negotiating the SUPPORT Act, I traveled across Washington state to speak directly with health care professionals and families about what the opioid crisis was doing to their communities—and I heard firsthand about the effects the crisis was having on babies born to mothers battling substance use disorder,” said Senator Murray. “As the opioid epidemic continues to steal precious lives in Washington state and throughout our country, reauthorizing the SUPPORT Act—especially these programs dealing with prenatal and postpartum health—could not be more important. Our bipartisan legislation will extend the CDC’s important work addressing the root causes of the opioid crisis and make sure pregnant women and mothers have the care and treatment necessary to treat addiction.”

“The fentanyl and opioid crisis continues to devastate communities across the country and sadly, expectant mothers and their newborn babies are not spared. We can and must do more to ensure that every American struggling with substance use disorder has access to the treatment and resources they need to get better, and that is especially true for pregnant women and new mothers,” said Senator Baldwin. “I am proud to lead this bipartisan legislation to help identify the root causes of this crisis, better prevent substance use in prenatal and postpartum women, and ensure that every baby can get the strong start they deserve.”

Senator Collins authored two provisions that were included in the SUPPORT Act when it passed with overwhelming support in 2018. In November, the Senator introduced the Peer Support Services Center of Excellence Act, which would reauthorize and modernize the National Peer-Run Training and Technical Assistance Center for Addiction Recovery Support, created under one of those provisions.   

The text of the legislation can be found here.

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