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Infant Mortality Bill Passes Ohio Senate

Republican Senator Shannon Jones
Jo Ingles
Republican Senator Shannon Jones

The Ohio Senate has passed a bill aimed at preventing infant mortality. One of the sponsors of the legislation, Republican Senator Shannon Jones, says a lot of research and collaboration went into the bill.

“The bottom line is we are trying to focus and target our efforts in those proven and evidence based interventions to sort of scale those interventions so that we can actually, in a way that’s meaningful and timely, improve those outcomes.”

The bill seeks to improve data collection about infant mortality, and encourages local groups to create programs to help new parents. Ohio has one of the worst infant mortality rates in the country and its black infant mortality rate is even worse. The legislation now goes to the Ohio House, which isn’t scheduled to take it up until after the November election.

Copyright 2021 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.