MOMS Act

Bill Number: S. 1630
Origin Chamber: Senate
Congress: 119th Congress, Session 1
Policy Area: Health
Status: Introduced
Latest Action: 2025-05-06: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Last Updated: 2026-06-18T15:25:23Z

AI-Generated Summary

Purpose of the Legislation

The "More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed Act" (MOMS Act) aims to support pregnant women, postpartum mothers, and women parenting young children by creating a centralized federal resource hub, expanding access to non-abortion-related services, and extending child support obligations to unborn children. It seeks to encourage carrying pregnancies to term and provide practical assistance in areas like health, housing, and financial support, while explicitly excluding entities involved in abortion services.

Key Provisions

The bill is divided into three titles, amending the Public Health Service Act and the Social Security Act.

Title I: Federal Clearinghouse of Resources for Expecting Moms

Sec. 101: Pregnancy.gov Website

Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to launch a public website (pregnancy.gov) within one year of enactment. The site serves as a clearinghouse for resources in categories like mentorship, health services (e.g., prenatal care, breastfeeding support), financial aid, housing, mental health, adoption, and information on alternatives to abortion and fetal development. Features include:

Interactive tools to search resources by ZIP code and distance (e.g., 1-100 miles).
User assessments with optional consent for follow-up outreach via phone or email.
Multilingual access.
Grants to states to build or support state-level resource aggregation systems, with criteria ensuring resources are from non-prohibited entities (defined below).
Annual reports to Congress on site usage, feedback, resource gaps, and certification that no prohibited entities are included.
Funding: Authorized through fiscal year 2030.

Sec. 102: National List of Licensed Child Placement Agencies

States must annually report to HHS a list of licensed, tax-exempt private agencies that place children in adoptive homes and are in good standing. HHS compiles these into a public list on pregnancy.gov. Non-compliant states lose eligibility for federal adoption incentive payments. Annual reports to Congress highlight any discrepancies or disciplinary actions against agencies.

Sec. 103: List of Funding Opportunities for Pregnancy Support Centers

HHS must maintain a public list on pregnancy.gov of federal grants available to nonprofits and health entities providing pregnancy support services (e.g., those offering resources like counseling or supplies).

Title II: Improving Access to Prenatal and Postnatal Resources

Sec. 201: Positive Alternatives for Women

HHS awards grants to nonprofits to provide information, referrals, and direct services encouraging women to carry pregnancies to term and care for their children post-birth. Eligible entities must:

Offer free services like medical care, nutrition, housing, adoption referrals, education/employment help, childcare, parenting classes, and substance abuse counseling.
Provide accurate printed information on fetal development.
Maintain privacy policies similar to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a federal law protecting patient health information).

Ineligible entities include those that perform, refer, counsel for, or fund abortions. Funds cannot cover abortion-related health benefits or unlicensed adoption services. HHS monitors grantees and can defund non-compliant ones. Funding comes from unobligated HHS funds.

Sec. 202: Improving Access to Prenatal and Postnatal Telehealth Care

HHS awards grants or cooperative agreements to eligible providers (e.g., in rural, frontier, medically underserved areas, or Tribal jurisdictions) to buy equipment for at-home telehealth (remote video or device-based medical consultations). Equipment examples include blood pressure cuffs, scales, and glucose monitors for prenatal/postnatal monitoring to improve maternal/infant health and reduce mortality. Ineligible entities are those involved in abortion activities. A report to Congress by September 30, 2028, will detail activities and outcomes. Funding: Authorized through fiscal year 2030.

Title III: Unborn Child Support

Sec. 301: Child Support Enforcement on Behalf of Unborn Children

Amends state child support plans under the Social Security Act to require enforcement of biological fathers' obligations for unborn children (defined as a human at any womb development stage), if requested by the mother. Key elements:

Obligations can start from the estimated conception month (determined by a doctor) and continue post-birth.
Retroactive collection is allowed, even if paternity is established after birth.
Amounts set by courts, considering the mother and child's best interests; no paternity tests without mother's consent, and none if risky to the unborn child.
Prohibits waivers or experimental projects that alter these rules.

Effective two years after enactment.

Definitions Across the Bill

Unborn child: A human (Homo sapiens) at any stage of development in the womb.
Abortion: Intentional use of drugs, devices, or procedures to end a known pregnancy, excluding cases like live birth after viability, removing a dead fetus, or treating ectopic pregnancies (where the embryo implants outside the uterus).
Prohibited entity: Any organization (including affiliates) that performs, refers, counsels for, or funds abortions.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

Adds a new Title XXXIV to the Public Health Service Act for the pregnancy.gov resource directory, including prohibitions on listing or funding prohibited entities.
Amends the Social Security Act to:
Expand child support enforcement (Section 454) to include unborn children, with retroactive and pre-birth obligations—a major shift from current law, which typically begins at birth.
Require state reporting of child placement agencies (Section 474) and tie it to adoption incentives (Section 473A).
Limit waivers for child support demonstration projects to prevent bypassing unborn child provisions (Section 1115).
Introduces grant programs for telehealth and pregnancy support, funded partly from existing HHS unobligated funds, with strict anti-abortion eligibility rules not present in prior similar programs.

Potential Impacts

Government Agencies: HHS gains responsibilities for website management, grant administration, reporting, and enforcement, potentially increasing administrative workload and costs (authorized appropriations through 2030). States must comply with reporting or risk losing federal child support/adoption funds, affecting state child welfare systems.
Citizens: Pregnant and postpartum women in underserved areas may gain easier access to free, localized support services (e.g., telehealth, housing, adoption info), but excluding abortion providers could limit options for those seeking comprehensive reproductive care. Fathers may face earlier financial obligations, with retroactive payments possible. Broader access to resources could improve maternal/infant health outcomes, especially in rural/Tribal areas.
International Relations: No direct impacts mentioned; the bill focuses on domestic U.S. programs.

Main Stakeholders Affected

Pregnant/Postpartum Women and Families: Primary beneficiaries of resources, referrals, telehealth, and support services; also initiators of unborn child support claims.
Nonprofit Pregnancy Support Centers and Health Providers: Eligible for grants and listings if they avoid abortion-related activities; must adhere to privacy and monitoring rules.
States and Child Placement Agencies: Required to report data; agencies gain visibility on pregnancy.gov but must maintain licensing and tax-exempt status.
Biological Fathers: Subject to new pre-birth child support enforcement.
Tribal Organizations and Rural/Underserved Communities: Targeted for telehealth grants to address access gaps.
HHS and Congress: Oversee implementation, funding, and reporting.

Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications

Legal: Expands "child support" to pre-birth stages, potentially leading to court challenges on enforceability, paternity consent, and retroactive payments. Definitions of "unborn child" and "abortion" align with federal statutes (e.g., 18 U.S.C. § 1841) but could influence state laws. Prohibitions on prohibited entities may require audits to ensure compliance.
Constitutional: References to fetal interests (e.g., best interests in support calculations) might raise questions under the 14th Amendment (equal protection/due process) or privacy rights (e.g., from Roe v. Wade precedents, though post-Dobbs landscape applies). No paternity testing without consent protects maternal autonomy.
Political: The bill's emphasis on alternatives to abortion and exclusion of abortion providers reflects a pro-life perspective, potentially polarizing debates on reproductive rights; it could affect federal funding allocations and state-federal relations in family policy.

This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.

Sponsor

Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL]

Cosponsors (27)

Sen. Schmitt, Eric [R-MO], Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND], Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN], Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX], Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID], Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT], Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE], Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA], Sen. Justice, James C. [R-WV], Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK], Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS], Sen. McCormick, David [R-PA], Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS], Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE], Sen. Risch, James E. [R-ID], Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD], Sen. Sheehy, Tim [R-MT], Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS], Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC], Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-MS], Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC], Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN], Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC], Sen. Tuberville, Tommy [R-AL], Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK], Sen. Moreno, Bernie [R-OH], Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA]

Recent Actions

2025-05-06: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
2025-05-06: Introduced in Senate

Bill Versions

More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed Act — issued 2025-05-06 — PDF (24 pages)