PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2982-2983)
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 11, 2005
Prenatally Diagnosed Condition Awareness Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through either the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to authorize and oversee certain activities relating to Down syndrome or other prenatally diagnosed conditions, including the awarding of grants, contracts or cooperative agreements to: (1) collect, synthesize, and disseminate current scientific information; and (2) coordinate the provision of, and access to, supportive services for patients affected, which shall include a telephone hotline, an information clearinghouse, peer-support programs, and registries of families willing to adopt children affected by such conditions.
Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of CDC, to provide assistance to State and local heath departments to integrate the results of prenatal testing into State-based vital statistics and birth defects surveillance programs.
Requires a health care provider to provide certain information to a patient who receives a positive test result from a prenatal test for such a condition, including: (1) up-to-date scientific information concerning the life expectancy, clinical course, and intellectual and functional development and treatment options for a fetus diagnosed with, or a child born with, such conditions; and (2) referrals to supportive service providers.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to submit a report to Congress concerning the effectiveness of current health care and family support programs serving as resources for the families of children with disabilities.
People & committees
Sen. Brownback, Sam [R-KS] · R–KS
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2982-2983)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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