Findings

Congress finds as follows: (1) Different hospitals have varying capacities to resuscitate premature babies. (2) There are parents of premature babies who have arrived at level 3 and level 4 neonatal intensive care units expecting medical intervention, only to find that life-saving treatment is not offered for babies born before a certain gestational point. (3) Some hospitals in the United States universally forgo intensive care for babies born before 22 weeks gestation, while others provide such care to nearly all babies born alive. (4) Data indicates that neonatal outcomes are best for premature babies when the baby is born at a center that consistently intervenes with life-saving treatment. (5) Parents deserve a new level of obstetric and neonatal transparency to ensure medical excellence in circumstances of extreme prematurity and parental consent to the course of treatment.