Sheppard–Towner Act
1921 Act of the United States Congress that provided funding for maternity and child care / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Promotion of the Welfare and Hygiene of Maternity and Infancy Act, more commonly known as the Sheppard–Towner Act, was a 1921 U.S. Act of Congress that provided federal funding for maternity and childcare.[1] It was sponsored by Senator Morris Sheppard (D) of Texas and Representative Horace Mann Towner (R) of Iowa and signed by President Warren G. Harding on November 23, 1921.[2] It went out of effect in 1929.[3]
Long title | An Act for the promotion of the welfare and hygiene of maternity and infancy, and for other purposes. |
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Enacted by | the 67th United States Congress |
Effective | November 23, 1921 |
Citations | |
Public law | Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 67–97 |
Statutes at Large | 42 Stat. 224, Chap: 135 |
Legislative history | |
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United States Supreme Court cases | |
Massachusetts v. Mellon |
The Sheppard–Towner Act was the first venture of the federal government into social security legislation and the first major legislation that came to exist after the full enfranchisement of women.[2] This marked the political and economic power of women's issues since the bill was passed due to the organization and influence of the Children's Bureau and the newly formed Women's Joint Congressional Committee. Before its passage, most of the expansion in public health programs occurred at the state and local levels.[4] The act played an important role in the medicalization of pregnancy and childbirth, the decrease in infant mortality rates, and the expansion of federal welfare legislation in the twentieth century United States.[5]