HR 3235119th CongressIn Committee

MOMS Act

Introduced: May 7, 2025

HealthcareSocial ServicesTechnology & Innovation

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed Act (the MOMS Act) would expand federal efforts to support pregnant and postpartum women by creating a centralized resource and funding structure. It would establish a public website, pregnancy.gov, as a clearinghouse for resources, enable states to contribute and curate local services, and require a national list of licensed private child placement agencies. It would also fund programs to steer women toward options that encourage carrying pregnancies to term (positive alternatives) and to improve prenatal/postnatal care through home telehealth equipment in underserved areas. Finally, the bill would create a framework to recognize unborn children in certain child support contexts, enabling states to establish and enforce child support obligations from conception in some cases. It authorizes funding for 2025–2030 and sets various reporting and monitoring requirements. Overall, the bill aims to make pregnancy-related resources easier to find and access, with prioritized support for term pregnancies and rural/underserved communities, while expanding unborn child support enforcement and limiting certain funding to groups that do not promote abortion.

Key Points

1Pregnancy.gov resource hub (Title I, Sec. 101)
2- A federally administered website providing a directory of resources for pregnant/postpartum women and mothers of young children.
3- Includes a ZIP code-based resource finder, language accessibility, and a consent-based outreach mechanism.
4- States are invited to provide resource recommendations; grants are possible to build/operate state systems that meet criteria (no prohibited entities).
5National list of licensed child placement agencies (Title I, Sec. 102)
6- States must report private child placement agencies that are licensed/accredited and in good standing.
7- The Secretary will publish a national list on pregnancy.gov and report to Congress annually, noting agencies not on the list and any state disciplinary actions.
8Funding opportunities for pregnancy support centers (Title I, Sec. 103)
9- The Secretary will compile a public list of federal funding opportunities for nonprofit and health care entities providing pregnancy support services.
10Positive alternatives for women (Title II, Sec. 201)
11- Grants to eligible nonprofit entities to provide information, referrals, and direct services intended to help women carry pregnancies to term and care for themselves and their babies after birth.
12- Funds cannot be used for abortion coverage or unlicensed adoption services; grantees must have privacy protections and provide accurate fetal/development information.
13- Services include medical care, nutrition, housing, adoption, education/work assistance, childcare, parenting education, and counseling (including substance use and mental health support).
14Prenatal/postnatal telehealth access (Title II, Sec. 202)
15- Grants or cooperative agreements to buy equipment for at-home telehealth visits (e.g., pulse oximeters, BP cuffs, scales) to improve care in rural, frontier, medically underserved areas, and tribal jurisdictions.
16- Eligible entities must not promote abortion and must use funds for at-home screening/monitoring and related services.
17- A Congress-wide report on 2025–2029 activities and outcomes is due by 2029.
18Unborn child support (Title III, Sec. 301)
19- States would amend plans to establish and enforce child support obligations of biological fathers to the mother of an unborn child (and later to the child) upon the mother’s request.
20- Provisions allow for start dates at conception, retroactive payments, court-determined amounts in consultation with the mother, and protections for consent and safety (no compulsory paternity measures without consent; no measures that pose risks to the unborn child).
21- The concept of “unborn child” is defined for this purpose; the effective date is two years after enactment, with application to calendar quarters after that date.
22Administrative and oversight framework
23- Explicit criteria to prevent funding to prohibited entities and ensure privacy protections (HIPAA-like safeguards) for program participants.
24- Ongoing monitoring and potential discontinuation of funding for noncompliant programs.
25- Definitions and clarifications for terms like “abortion,” “prohibited entity,” and “unborn child.”

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- Pregnant and postpartum women, and women parenting young children, particularly in rural, frontier, and medically underserved areas; unborn children (through the child support provisions).Secondary group/area affected- Nonprofit pregnancy support centers, private child placement agencies, and health care providers that offer prenatal/postnatal services.- States and local agencies that administer maternal and child health programs and adoption-related services.Additional impacts- Federal budgeting and grant-making processes for maternal and child health, including requirements around privacy and data reporting.- The scope of abortion-related activities within funded programs, potentially affecting partnerships with certain clinics or providers.- Public-facing resource accessibility, including multilingual support and clear guidance on which services are available online versus locally.“Unborn child” is defined to cover a fetus at any stage of development, and the section ties child support to the mother from conception onward in certain cases, subject to consent and safety protections.“Prohibited entity” includes abortion providers or groups that counsel in favor of abortion, which can affect eligibility for grants and inclusion in pregnancy.gov resources.“Relevant resources” span a wide range of services from health care and nutrition to housing, education, adoption, and mental health, with specific restrictions on how funds may be used.

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