Latest News

Washington, DC– Last week, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) and Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) advanced legislation that would help pregnant and postpartum women and their infants receive proper treatment for opioid dependency and opioid withdrawal. The bill passed unanimously by voice vote in the Energy and Commerce Committee.

“When a pregnant woman is experiencing opioid use disorder, not only is her life in danger, but also the life of her child, who could be born experiencing opioid withdrawal. I was proud to join Congressman Foster to introduce this bill that would enhance Medicaid services for pregnant and postpartum women and their infants. I applaud the bipartisan approval of this bill by the Energy and Commerce Committee and look forward to continue working with Congressman Foster to advance it to the full House,”said Guthrie, vice chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee.

“Individuals who struggle with opioid dependency deserve the support they need to lead healthy, fulfilling lives. Women who are pregnant or who have just given birth and their newborns are especially vulnerable to opioid dependency. It is important to the health of our communities that we come together and move past gridlock and expand life-saving programs that will benefit women and their newborns,”Foster said. “We’ve started to break down the stigma of speaking about addiction, and we’ve started to view addiction less as a moral failing and more as a treatable medical condition. I’m proud to work with Congressman Guthrie on this important legislation that will improve the lives of women and children, and I thank him for his leadership on this issue.”

The number of pregnant women who struggle with opioid dependency has grown, which directly correlates with the number of children who are born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), causing NAS numbers to quadruple over the past 15 years. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that almost six out of 1,000 infants born in the United States are diagnosed with the syndrome.

###