The Standing with Moms Act would amend the Public Health Service Act to create a new national effort focused on informing and supporting pregnant women. It requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish life.gov, a user-friendly website that provides a comprehensive, government-and-partner resource list for pregnant people. It also mandates a DHHS portal that delivers tailored information based on user questions (including local resources by ZIP code and information about abortion risks at different gestational stages) and collects user feedback. The Act envisions a broad array of resources—spanning mental health, medical care, financial and legal support, housing, parenting and child development, and services for women experiencing pregnancy loss or abortion experiences. It also imposes administration controls, state-grant programs to build resource aggregators, a maternal mental health hotline with 24/7 live chat, multilingual access, reporting to Congress, and protections to exclude resources from “prohibited entities.” The bill emphasizes user consent, follow-up outreach, and coordination with federal, state, local, and private providers while safeguarding confidentiality. If enacted, the legislation could significantly expand official information and support options available to pregnant individuals, with a special emphasis on nonabortion-related services and guidance. It would require substantial federal implementation, oversight, and ongoing funding to maintain the website, portal, grant program, and hotline, as well as regular reporting to Congress.
Key Points
- 1Website and portal creation: life.gov within 1 year to host a comprehensive, government-backed resource list and a separate portal that delivers tailored information based on user questions (including local resources and abortion-related risks by gestational stage), plus a feedback mechanism.
- 2Broad resource categories: the site and portal would link to mentorship, health and well-being services (including obstetric/gynecologic care and breastfeeding), financial and housing supports, legal and transportation aid, mental health and addiction services, prenatal diagnostics, perinatal loss resources, abortion-survivor support, and child-rearing/adoption/foster care resources.
- 3Prohibition on certain providers: resources on life.gov and through the portal/ hotline may not come from “prohibited entities” (defined as abortion providers or entities closely tied to abortion activity or financing).
- 4Administration and oversight: the Secretary cannot delegate administration below the Office of the Secretary; requires state participation with criteria for resource inclusion, and grants to states to build or support resource-aggregation systems.
- 5Hotline and accessibility: the Maternal Mental Health Hotline would promote life.gov/portal use, have nationwide reach, and include 24/7 live chat to connect users with information.
- 6Reporting and privacy: a Congress-facing report within 180 days of launch (without disclosing personal identifying information) on traffic, user feedback, gaps, and improvement ideas.
- 7Language access: explicit mandate to provide services in languages other than English to maximize reach.
- 8Definitions: clarifies terms such as abortion, unborn child, born alive, and prohibited entity to guide what is included or excluded.