Bill Text: IL SB1703 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Engrossed

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the Hospital Licensing Act. Provides that a hospital may include the option of common cremation of fetal tissue in its mandatory notification to a mother following a spontaneous fetal demise after a gestation period of less than 20 weeks. Amends the Crematory Regulation Act to provide an exemption to cremation procedures concerning simultaneous cremation of the human remains for fetal tissue pursuant to the Act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2009-08-11 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 96-0338 [SB1703 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-SB1703-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning public health.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Hospital Licensing Act is amended by
changing Section 11.4 as follows:
(210 ILCS 85/11.4)
Sec. 11.4. Disposition of fetus. A hospital having custody
of a fetus following a spontaneous fetal demise occurring after
a gestation period of less than 20 completed weeks must notify
the mother of her right to arrange for the burial or cremation
of the fetus. Notification may also include other options such
as, but not limited to, a ceremony, a certificate, or common
burial or cremation of fetal tissue. If, within 24 hours after
being notified under this Section, the mother elects in writing
to arrange for the burial or cremation of the fetus, the
disposition of the fetus shall be subject to the same laws and
rules that apply in the case of a fetal death that occurs in
this State after a gestation period of 20 completed weeks or
more. The Department of Public Health shall develop forms to be
used for notifications and elections under this Section and
hospitals shall provide the forms to the mother.
(Source: P.A. 92-348, eff. 1-1-02.)

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Section 10. The Crematory Regulation Act is amended by
changing Section 35 as follows:
(410 ILCS 18/35)
Sec. 35. Cremation procedures.
(a) Human remains shall not be cremated within 24 hours
after the time of death, as indicated on the Medical
Examiner's/Coroner's Certificate of Death. In any death, the
human remains shall not be cremated by the crematory authority
until a cremation permit has been received from the coroner or
medical examiner of the county in which the death occurred and
the crematory authority has received a cremation authorization
form, executed by an authorizing agent, in accordance with the
provisions of Section 15 of this Act. In no instance, however,
shall the lapse of time between the death and the cremation be
less than 24 hours, unless (i) it is known the deceased has an
infectious or dangerous disease and that the time requirement
is waived in writing by the medical examiner or coroner where
the death occurred or (ii) because of a religious requirement.
(b) Except as set forth in subsection (a) of this Section,
a crematory authority shall have the right to schedule the
actual cremation to be performed at its own convenience, at any
time after the human remains have been delivered to the
crematory authority, unless the crematory authority has
received specific instructions to the contrary on the cremation
authorization form.

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(c) No crematory authority shall cremate human remains when
it has actual knowledge that human remains contain a pacemaker
or any other material or implant that may be potentially
hazardous to the person performing the cremation.
(d) No crematory authority shall refuse to accept human
remains for cremation because such human remains are not
embalmed.
(e) Whenever a crematory authority is unable or
unauthorized to cremate human remains immediately upon taking
custody of the remains, the crematory authority shall place the
human remains in a holding facility in accordance with the
crematory authority's rules and regulations. The crematory
authority must notify the authorizing agent of the reasons for
delay in cremation if a properly authorized cremation is not
performed within any time period expressly contemplated in the
authorization.
(f) A crematory authority shall not accept a casket or
alternative container from which there is any evidence of the
leakage of body fluids.
(g) The casket or the alternative container shall be
cremated with the human remains or destroyed, unless the
crematory authority has notified the authorizing agent to the
contrary on the cremation authorization form and obtained the
written consent of the authorizing agent.
(h) The simultaneous cremation of the human remains of more
than one person within the same cremation chamber, without the

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prior written consent of the authorizing agent, is prohibited
except for common cremation pursuant to Section 11.4 of the
Hospital Licensing Act. Nothing in this subsection, however,
shall prevent the simultaneous cremation within the same
cremation chamber of body parts delivered to the crematory
authority from multiple sources, or the use of cremation
equipment that contains more than one cremation chamber.
(i) No unauthorized person shall be permitted in the
holding facility or cremation room while any human remains are
being held there awaiting cremation, being cremated, or being
removed from the cremation chamber.
(j) A crematory authority shall not remove any dental gold,
body parts, organs, or any item of value prior to or subsequent
to a cremation without previously having received specific
written authorization from the authorizing agent and written
instructions for the delivery of these items to the authorizing
agent. Under no circumstances shall a crematory authority
profit from making or assisting in any removal of valuables.
(k) Upon the completion of each cremation, and insofar as
is practicable, all of the recoverable residue of the cremation
process shall be removed from the cremation chamber.
(l) If all of the recovered cremated remains will not fit
within the receptacle that has been selected, the remainder of
the cremated remains shall be returned to the authorizing agent
or the agent's designee in a separate container. The crematory
authority shall not return to an authorizing agent or the

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agent's designee more or less cremated remains than were
removed from the cremation chamber.
(m) A crematory authority shall not knowingly represent to
an authorizing agent or the agent's designee that a temporary
container or urn contains the cremated remains of a specific
decedent when it does not.
(n) Cremated remains shall be shipped only by a method that
has an internal tracing system available and that provides a
receipt signed by the person accepting delivery.
(o) A crematory authority shall maintain an identification
system that shall ensure that it shall be able to identify the
human remains in its possession throughout all phases of the
cremation process.
(Source: P.A. 92-675, eff. 7-1-03.)
Section 15. The Vital Records Act is amended by adding
Section 21.5 as follows:
(410 ILCS 535/21.5 new)
Sec. 21.5. Group burial; group cremation. Notwithstanding
Sections 20 and 21 of this Act, a permit for a group burial or
group cremation under Section 11.4 of the Hospital Licensing
Act may be issued without a fetal death certificate. The
Department shall adopt rules to implement this Section.