BILL REQ. #:  H-0986.1 

Read first time 01/28/11.   Referred to Committee on Health Care & Wellness.

     AN ACT Relating to certificates of still birth; and adding a new section to chapter 70.58 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 70.58 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The local registrar of the county in which a stillbirth occurs shall issue, upon request of the mother or father of the fetus, a certificate of still birth on a form prescribed by the state registrar. The local registrar must transmit a completed certificate of still birth to the state registrar no later than sixty days after its issuance.
     (2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a certificate of still birth must comply with all of the format requirements governing a birth certificate. The certificate of still birth is in addition to, and may not replace, a fetal death certificate.
     (3) A certificate of still birth must contain the following information taken, when possible, from the fetal death certificate:
     (a) The date of the stillbirth;
     (b) The county in which the stillbirth occurred;
     (c) The name, if any, and sex of the stillborn fetus;
     (d) The time and place of the stillbirth, including the street address, and, if applicable, the name of the hospital in which the stillbirth occurred;
     (e) The names, dates of birth, and states of birth of the mother and father;
     (f) The file number of the fetal death certificate;
     (g) A title at the top of the certificate that reads, "Certificate of Still Birth;" and
     (h) A statement at the bottom of the certificate that reads, "This Certificate of Still Birth is not proof of a live birth."
     (4) The state or local registrar may not use the information on a certificate of still birth for any purpose other than to respond to the request for the certificate from the mother or father of the fetus.
     (5) A certificate of still birth must be issued to a mother or father upon request regardless of the date the fetal death certificate was issued.
     (6) The state registrar and the local registrar may charge a fee for processing and issuing a certificate of still birth. The amount of the fee may not exceed the full cost of providing the certificate.
     (7) Nothing in this section may be the basis for a civil cause of action seeking damages against any person or entity for bodily injury, personal injury, or wrongful death for a stillbirth.
     (8) For purposes of this section, "stillbirth" means the delivery of a fetus where there was a naturally occurring intrauterine fetal death after a gestational age of at least twenty completed weeks.
     (9) Through its statutes, state Constitution, and judicial decisions, Washington protects a woman's right to reproductive privacy and freedom and it is the intent of legislature to reaffirm this protection. Nothing in this section may be interpreted to alter a woman's right to reproductive privacy and freedom in any way or to alter or supersede any other provision of law. The terms used in this section only apply to this section and do not affect the definition, use, meaning, or intent of the terms as they may appear in any other statute, judicial decision, or the state Constitution. Except for the right to request a certificate of still birth, nothing in this section constitutes the basis of any new right, privilege, or entitlement or abrogates any existing right, privilege, or entitlement.