Bill Text: NJ A4636 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Clarifies that, while fetal death certificate and burial or removal permit are generally not required when fetal death occurs before 20 weeks of gestation; such documentation is to be prepared upon parent's request.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-27 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee [A4636 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A4636-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Clarifies that, while fetal death certificate and burial or removal permit are generally not required when fetal death occurs before 20 weeks of gestation, such documentation is to be prepared upon parent's request.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning fetal deaths and fetal death certification, and amending R.S.26:6-11.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.26:6-11 is amended to read as follows:
26:6-11. a. A certificate of fetal death , containing such items as shall be listed on fetal death certificate forms provided or approved by the department under authority of [section 26:8-24(c) of the Revised Statutes] subsection c. of R.S.26:8-24, and a burial or removal permit , shall be required for every fetal death; provided [,] that 20 or more weeks of gestation have elapsed before the delivery.
b. A certificate of fetal death, as described in subsection a. of this section, and a burial or removal permit, shall not be required for a fetal death that occurs before 20 weeks of gestation have elapsed, unless a parent of the fetus expressly requests such documentation, in which case, a certificate of fetal death and a burial or removal permit shall be prepared and issued as requested.
c. No midwife shall sign a certificate for a fetal death [; but any] . Any fetal death occurring without attendance of a physician shall be treated as a death without medical attendance, as provided in [section 26:6-9 of this Title] R.S.26:6-9.
(cf: P.L.1965, c.78, s.8)
2. In accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.,) the State Board of Medical Examiners, the State Board of Mortuary Science, and the Department of Health shall each adopt rules and regulations, with respect to the practitioners and facilities under each entity's respective jurisdiction, as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would amend the State's fetal death certification and burial permitting law, in order to clarify the law as it pertains to fetal deaths that occur before the 20th week of gestation. Specifically, the bill would clarify that a fetal death certificate and a burial or removal permit are to be issued in such a case, if requested by the parent.
While the law expressly exempts fetuses under 20 weeks old from the general requirements applicable to fetal death certification and burial permitting, it does not expressly prohibit a fetal death certificate or burial or removal permit from being issued cases of fetal death occurring before the 20th week of gestation.
The spontaneous loss of a fetus, regardless of the date on which it occurs, is often a highly traumatic experience for the parents involved. Both the death certification and burial processes can provide solace to grieving parents and assist them in processing and accepting the loss of a fetus, even if that loss has occurred before the 20th week of gestation. This bill, therefore, would clarify the existing law on this issue by specifying that, while a fetal death certificate and a burial or removal permit are generally not required in cases where a fetus dies before 20 weeks of gestation, these documents are, nonetheless, to be prepared and issued, in such a case, upon the parent's request.
The State Board of Medical Examiners, the State Board of Mortuary Science, and the Department of Health, would each be required to adopt rules and regulations, pertaining to the practitioners and facilities under their respective jurisdictions, as may be necessary to implement the bill's provisions.
