Bill Text: NY A00242 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to the disposition of fetal remains.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to health [A00242 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A00242-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 242 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 4, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. EICHENSTEIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the disposition of fetal remains The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 4160 of the public health law, as amended by chap- 2 ter 436 of the laws of 1967, subdivision 2 as amended and subdivisions 4 3 and 5 as added by chapter 809 of the laws of 1987 and subdivision 3 as 4 amended by chapter 552 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as 5 follows: 6 § 4160. Fetal deaths; registration. 1. Fetal death is defined as death 7 prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a prod- 8 uct of conception; the death is indicated by the fact that after such 9 separation, the fetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of 10 life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or 11 definite movement of voluntary muscles. 12 2. A fetal death shall be registered within seventy-two hours after 13 expulsion of [such fetus] a fetus of any gestational age, by filing 14 directly with the commissioner a certificate of such death. In addition, 15 a report of fetal death shall be reported to the registrar in the 16 district in which the fetal death occurred. 17 3. In the case of a spontaneous fetal death at any gestational age, 18 the attending physician or a person designated by the hospital shall 19 ensure that the mother of the fetus is informed of her right to access 20 the report of fetal death and to direct either burial, entombment or 21 cremation of the fetal remains. 22 4. For the purposes of this article, a fetal death shall be considered 23 as a birth and as a death except that, for a fetal death, separate birth 24 and death certificates shall not be required to be prepared and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00160-01-3A. 242 2 1 recorded, except as provided in section forty-one hundred sixty-a of 2 this title. 3 [4.] 5. Local registrars of each district in which fetal death certif- 4 icates were filed prior to the effective date of this subdivision shall 5 dispose of such certificates in the manner prescribed by the commission- 6 er. 7 [5.] 6. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the 8 disclosure of information filed pursuant to this section shall be limit- 9 ed to the mother, her lawful representative and to authorized personnel 10 of the department. 11 § 2. Section 4162 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 809 12 of the laws of 1987, is amended to read as follows: 13 § 4162. Fetal deaths; burial and removal; permits. 1. The remains 14 resulting from a spontaneous fetal death at any gestational age shall be 15 released to the mother of the fetus upon request and upon issuance of a 16 permit pursuant to subdivision three of this section. 17 2. A permit shall be required for the removal, transportation, burial 18 or other disposition of remains resulting from a fetal death, other than 19 fetal tissue, hydatidiform mole or other evidence of pregnancy recovered 20 by curettage or operative procedures or other products of conception of 21 under twenty weeks uterogestation. 22 [2.] 3. Such permit shall be issued by the local registrar of the 23 district in which the fetal death occurred upon presentation by the 24 funeral director or the mother of the fetus of a report of fetal death, 25 on the form prescribed by the commissioner. The issuance of such permit 26 shall be subject to the provisions of title IV of this article. 27 4. The physician or a person designated by a hospital shall ensure 28 that the mother of the fetus is informed both orally and in writing 29 about her right to access the report of fetal death and to direct either 30 burial, entombment or cremation of the fetal remains. 31 § 3. Section 4200 of the public health law is amended to read as 32 follows: 33 § 4200. Cadavers; duty of burial. 1. Except in the cases in which a 34 right to dissect it is expressly conferred by law, every body of a 35 deceased person, within this state, shall be decently buried or inciner- 36 ated within a reasonable time after death. 37 2. The remains resulting from a spontaneous fetal death at any gesta- 38 tional age shall be released to the mother of the fetus upon request, in 39 accordance with section forty-one hundred sixty-two of this chapter. Any 40 costs associated with the release, burial, entombment or cremation of 41 these fetal remains shall be borne by the mother. 42 3. The provisions of this section shall not impair the right to carry 43 the body of a deceased person through this state, or to remove from this 44 state the body of a person who has died within it, for the purpose of 45 burying the same elsewhere. 46 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 1389-dd of the public health law is 47 amended by adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows: 48 (e) In the case of remains resulting from spontaneous fetal death, by 49 burial, entombment or cremation at the request of the mother, pursuant 50 to section forty-one hundred sixty-two of this chapter. 51 § 5. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 52 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment 53 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation 54 of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 55 completed on or before such date.
