H. B. 2065
(By Delegates Caputo, Manchin and Longstreth)
[Introduced January 13, 2010; 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.