ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
certificates of stillbirth
Requires the registrar of vital statistics to establish a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth for each fetal death occurring after 20 weeks of gestation.
According to the Department of Health Services (DHS), there were over 600 stillbirths in Arizona in 1999, an increase from 375 in 1989. A stillbirth is an intra-uterine death that occurs after 20 weeks of pregnancy, during which the stillborn infant is born without any attempt at respiration. When a death of a fetus occurs prior to 20 months gestation, it is considered a miscarriage and no death certificate is issued. However, when the death of a fetus takes place after 20 weeks of gestation, a fetal death certificate is issued.
Currently, statute requires a fetal death certificate to be signed by the parents of a stillborn infant, and filed with the designated registrar within three days of delivery. In addition, a copy of the fetal death certificate is provided to the parents of a stillborn. In many cases, a stillborn infant is carried to term, yet the families receive only a fetal death certificate. In six other states, certificates of stillbirth are issued and registered in place of or in addition to death certificates. H.B. 2416 allows the parents of a stillborn child to receive a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth in addition to the fetal death certificate by requiring the registrar of vital statistics to establish a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth.
According to DHS, there is no additional costs to the Department relating to this bill.
Provisions
1. Requires the registrar of vital statistics to establish a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth for each fetal death taking place after 20 weeks of gestation.
2. Requires the certificate to be offered to the parent or parents of a stillborn child.
3. Requires the certificate to conform to the birth certificate format and filing requirements.
4. Requires the person preparing the certificate to exclude any references to the stillborn child’s name if the parents do not wish to name the stillborn child.
5. Requires the certificate to be filed within three days of the delivery and prior to cremation or removal of fetus from the registration district.
6. Allows a certificate that has not been registered within one year of delivery to be filed and registered as “delayed”.
7. Specifies this act shall be known as the “Missing Angels Act”.
NAA 2/15/2001 DP 5-0-0-1
3rd Read 3/01/2001 DP 54-5-1-0
Prepared by Senate Staff
March 16, 2001