Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya
Stillbirth advocacy was not part of Debbie’s master plan, but on July 8, 2011, her life irrevocably changed, the moment her daughter Autumn was born still. Autumn’s tragic death impacted her family greatly and propelled her mom toward helping others through advocacy. Debbie has since become a powerful stillbirth activist at both the state and national level, a speaker, writer, and policy enthusiast.
Over the past 11 years she has been working tirelessly to give Autumn’s short life a purpose and to shed light on this heartbreaking maternal health issue. In 2013, Debbie co-founded the national, Action for Stillbirth Awareness and Prevention Coalition. The mission of the ASAP Coalition is to raise stillbirth awareness, unify voices, and accelerate prevention efforts in the United States. That same year, Debbie assisted in drafting New Jersey’s first-ever stillbirth legislation which was passed in 2014. The Autumn Joy Stillbirth Research & Dignity Act was designed to improve policies and protocols for when stillbirth occurs across all hospitals and birthing facilities statewide while also improving stillbirth data collection throughout NJ. Later in 2014, Debbie founded the 2 Degrees Foundation, an NJ-based organization dedicated to giving every family in the state a fighting chance against stillbirth. And most recently Debbie has been working to get federal stillbirth legislation passed in Autumn’s name.
The bipartisan Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education (SHINE) for Autumn Act, (S.3972) was introduced into the Senate on March 31st by NJ’s, Senator Cory Booker and Florida’s, Senator Marco Rubio. Companion legislation, (H.R. 5487) overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives, (408/18), on December 8, 2021, three months to the day that it was introduced. This critical piece of legislation would focus on preventing stillbirths through enhanced data collection, education, analysis, reporting, and research. The SHINE for Autumn Act would be the beginning of a longer-term solution towards the prevention and reduction of incidences of stillbirth in the United States.
It brings Debbie immense peace to know that from their unimaginable tragedy, she, and Autumn, can have a positive impact on another family’s future. Because in the end, no one should ever have to know this kind of pain.
