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Introduced Version House Bill 2065 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2065


(By Delegates Caputo, Manchin and Longstreth)
[Introduced February 11, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then Finance.]




A BILL to amend and reenact §16-5-21 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to providing for the issuance of a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth by the State Registrar to parents of a stillborn who request the record to be prepared.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §16-5-21 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. VITAL STATISTICS.

§16-5-21. Reports of fetal death; record of birth resulting in stillbirth.

(a) Each fetal death of 350 grams or more, and if weight is unknown, of 20 completed weeks of gestation or more, calculated from the date the last normal menstrual period began to the date of delivery, which occurs in this state, shall be reported within five days after delivery to the section of vital statistics or as otherwise directed by the State Registrar.
(1) When a fetal death occurs, the person in charge of the institution or his or her designated representative shall prepare and file the report. In obtaining the information required by the report, all institutions shall use information gathering procedures, including worksheets, provided or approved by the State Registrar.
(2) When a fetal death occurs, the physician in attendance at or immediately after delivery shall prepare and file the report.
(3) When inquiry is required pursuant to article 12, chapter 61, or other applicable provisions of this code, the State Medical Examiner or designee or county medical examiner or county coroner shall investigate the cause of fetal death and shall prepare and file the report within five days. If after investigation, the State Medical Examiner or designee or county medical examiner or county coroner decline jurisdiction, the person declining jurisdiction may direct the local health officer to investigate the cause of fetal death and prepare and file the report.
(4) When a fetal death occurs in a moving conveyance and the fetus is first removed from the conveyance in this state, the place where the fetus was first removed from the conveyance will be considered the place of fetal death.
(b) When a fetus is found in this state and the place of death is unknown, the fetal death shall be recorded in this state, and the place where the fetus was found will be considered the place of fetal death.
(c) Record of birth resulting in stillbirth.
(1)
Filing - A record of birth for each birth resulting in a stillbirth in this state, on or after July 1, 2009, for which a fetal death report is required under this section, shall be filed with the State Registrar within five days after the birth if the parent or parents of the stillbirth request to have a record of birth resulting in stillbirth prepared.
(2) Information to Parents -- The physician or other party responsible for filing a fetal death report under this section shall advise the parent or parents of a stillbirth:
(A) That they may request preparation of a record of birth resulting in stillbirth;
(B) That preparation of the record is optional; and
(C) How to obtain a certified copy of the record if one is requested and prepared.
(3)
Preparation -- (A) Within five days after delivery of a stillbirth, the parent or parents of the stillbirth may prepare and file the record with the State Registrar, if the parent or parents
of the stillbirth, after being advised as provided in subdivision (2), request to have a record of birth resulting in stillbirth prepared.
(B) If the parent or parents of the stillbirth do not choose to provide a full name for the stillbirth, the parent or parents may choose to file only a last name.
(C) Either parent of the stillbirth or, if neither parent is available, another person with knowledge of the facts of the stillbirth shall attest to the accuracy of the personal data entered on the record in time to permit the filing of the record within five days after delivery.
(4) Retroactive application -- Notwithstanding subdivisions (1) thru (3), if a birth that occurred in this state at any time resulted in a stillbirth for which a fetal death report was required under this section, but a record of birth resulting in stillbirth was not prepared under subdivision (3), a parent of the stillbirth may submit to the State Registrar, on or after July 1, 2009, a written request for preparation of a record of birth resulting in stillbirth and evidence of the facts of the stillbirth in the form and manner specified by the State Registrar. The State Registrar shall prepare and file the record of birth resulting in stillbirth within 30 days after receiving satisfactory evidence of the facts of the stillbirth.
(5)
Responsibilities of State Registrar -- The State Registrar shall:
(A) Prescribe the form of and information to be included on a record of birth resulting in stillbirth, which shall be as similar as possible to the form of and information included on a record of birth;
(B) Prescribe the form of and information to be provided by the parent of a stillbirth requesting a record of birth resulting in stillbirth under subdivisions (3) and (4) and make this form available on the Bureau for Public Health's web site;
(C) Issue a certified copy of a record of birth resulting in stillbirth to a parent of the stillbirth that is the subject of the record if:
(i) A record of birth resulting in stillbirth has been prepared and filed under subdivision (3) or (4); and
(ii) The parent requesting a certified copy of the record submits the request in writing; and
(D) Create and implement a process for entering, preparing, and handling stillbirth records in a similar manner to the processes for birth and fetal death records when feasible.



NOTE: The purpose of "Kirstin's bill" is to provide for the issuance by the State Registrar of a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth to parents of a stillborn who request the record to be prepared.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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