Nebraska Legislature Preliminarily Approves Bill That Would Provide Birth Certificates For Stillborn Infants

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 19 Mar 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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The Nebraska Legislature on Thursday gave preliminary approval to a bill (LB 1048) that would provide birth certificates to parents of stillborn infants at 20 or more weeks' gestation, the AP/Hays Daily News reports. The state currently issues certificates of fetal death for fetuses that die at 20 or more weeks' gestation. About five fetal death certificates are issued annually, according to a spokesperson from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (Ross, AP/Hays Daily News, 3/16).

Under the measure, parents of stillborn infants would be able to obtain a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth by contacting the health department. Parents would be able to provide a name for the stillborn infant. If a name is not provided, stillborn infants would be listed on the certificate as "baby boy" or "baby girl," followed by the parents' last name. The certificates of stillbirth would not be used to calculate live birth statistics. If approved, parents who had stillborn infants prior to the measure's effective date would be able to request the certificate (Bill text, 3/17).

According to the AP/Daily News, 21 states have laws that provide certificates of birth resulting in stillbirth, and an additional 12 have laws that allow for certificates of stillbirth. Legislation to allow such certificates is pending in six other states. Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women, said that she understands the need for some parents to obtain a birth certificate for a stillborn infant as long as the certificates do not affect abortion rights (AP/Hays Daily News, 3/16).

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