Advocacy Activities & Updates
SMFM supports policies to advance optimal and equitable perinatal outcomes for all who desire or experience pregnancy. We prioritize activities in line with our health policy agenda, which is rooted in health equity and supports policy proposals that are aimed at eliminating healthcare inequities for high-risk pregnant people. Letters, testimony, and other documents related to SMFM’s federal and state advocacy efforts can be found below.
Interested in seeing what legislation SMFM has endorsed? Check it out here.
Federal Activities
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April 13, 2026: SMFM joined over 95 organizations in a letter urging Congress to reject cuts to the NIH proposed in the President’s Budget Request for FY2027.
March 9, 2026: SMFM joined more than 500 organizations in a letter urging Congressional leaders to appropriate at least $51.3 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in FY 2027.
March 2, 2026: SMFM joined more than 250 partner organizations in a letter calling for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to be funded at $500 million in FY27 and that the Agency have sufficient staff to manage its statutory obligations.
January 20, 2026: SMFM joined more than 200 partner organizations in a letter calling for the swift passage of a final appropriations bill that protects the NIH and provides $48.7 billion in funding for fiscal year 2026 (FY26).
November 21, 2026: SMFM joined partner organizations in a letter thanking the Office of AIDS Research for maintaining the federal HIV guidelines to ensure the latest scientific discoveries are benefiting people with HIV across the country.
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April 10, 2026: SMFM and 339 partner organizations sent a letter to leaders in the House of Representatives and the Senate requesting $2 million for the Stillbirth Working Group recommendations under the Office of the Secretary of HHS, and $1 million for the CDC’s Fetal Death program to enhance stillbirth surveillance and identify risk factors in FY 2027.
March 30, 2026: SMFM joined 135 partner organizations in a letter expressing strong support for fully funding the implementation of the recently enacted Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early Act (PREEMIE) Reauthorization Act of 2025.
March 27, 2026: As part of the Friends of NCHS coalition, SMFM joined a letter asking Congress to appropriate $220 million to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) in FY2027.
March 27, 2026: SMFM joined partner organization in a letter asking Congress to advance an FY2027 Labor-HHS appropriations bill that supports the modernization and long-term sustainability of public health data infrastructure.
March 27, 2026: As part of the Friends of NCBDDD coalition, SMFM joined a letter asking Congress to appropriate $205 million to the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) in FY2027.
March 26, 2026: SMFM joined 109 partners in a letter asking Congress to appropriate $100 million for the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies (SET-NET) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in FY2027.
March 26, 2026: SMFM and 137 partner organizations urged Congress to allocate $1 billion for the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant in the FY27 L-HHS Appropriations bill, supporting increases for both the state formula fund and SPRANS.
March 23, 2026: SMFM joined 165 partner organizations in a letter urging Congressional leaders to provide at least $11.581 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in FY 2027.
March 4, 2026: SMFM joined 65 partner organizations in sending a letter to Senate leadership expressing strong opposition to any efforts to weaken the nation's main chemical safety law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which protects public health by reducing exposure to harmful chemicals and ensuring chemical safety testing.
February 25, 2026: SMFM joined more than 200 partner organizations in a statement of support for the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2026 immunization schedule.
February 9, 2026: SMFM submitted a comment letter to CDC outlining our support for continued data collection under the Maternal Mortality Review Information App (MMRIA).
January 22, 2026: SMFM joined 65 partner organizations to send a letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee leadership expressing strong opposition to any efforts to weaken the nation’s main chemical safety law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
January 20, 2026: SMFM submitted a comment letter to CDC outlining our support for continued data collection under the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS). We also signed onto a comment letter with the Massachusetts Mind the Gap Coalition.
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April 9, 2026: SMFM joined more than 130 organizations in expressing concern over changes to CDC’s ACIP charter, which revised its focus and membership qualifications and could undermine vaccine confidence and access.
March 16, 2026: SMFM joined the National Rural Health Association in a letter of support for the Rural Residency Planning and Development Act of 2025, which authorizes funding to cover start-up costs, accreditation, faculty development, and recruitment, aiming to increase the number of trained physicians in rural areas.
March 12, 2026: SMFM submitted comments to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) highlighting the importance of maternal immunization and advocating for the use of Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) and Evidence to Recommendation (EtR) frameworks for development of all future ACIP recommendations.
February 9, 2026: SMFM joined more than 400 partner organizations in a letter urging Congress to incorporate guidance protecting communities from immigration enforcement in “sensitive locations” like schools, child care facilities, health care, and public health facilities into DHS funding legislation.
February 9, 2026: SMFM joined ACOG and other partner organizations in a letter urging Congress to conduct robust oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) family detention facilities to ensure that those detained have timely, adequate access to medical care.
January 9, 2026: SMFM joined 230 partner organizations in a letter requesting Congress conduct oversight regarding the abrupt changes to the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule made by HHS.
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April 10, 2026: SMFM joined over 65 organizations in a letter urging Congress to eliminate the Weldon Amendment from the FY2027 Labor-HHS appropriations package.
March 24, 2026: SMFM signed a letter of support for Congress to overturn the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) final rule that banned abortion care and counseling for veterans and their loved ones.
February 12, 2026: SMFM submitted a letter to Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs leadership supporting Senate Joint Resolution 103, which would disapprove the recent United States Department of Veterans Affairs’ rule related to Reproductive Health Services that effectively bans access to abortion care for veterans and their loved ones.
January 21, 2026: SMFM joined partner organizations in a letter opposing HR 6945 which would divert federal funds to anti-abortion centers, also known as Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs).