House bill NO. 213

INTRODUCED BY B. Mitchell, S. Gunderson, J. Windy Boy, F. Anderson, S. Kerns, J. Schillinger, C. Knudsen, S. Gist, G. Nikolakakos, K. Zolnikov, D. Fern, S. Essmann, P. Fielder, L. Reksten, T. Moore, M. Bertoglio, L. Brewster, R. Knudsen, G. Frazer, J. Hinkle, N. Nicol, M. Binkley, B. Ler, A. Regier, K. Seekins-Crowe, F. Nave, R. Marshall, E. Buttrey, L. Jones, D. Loge, C. Hinkle, J. Read, R. Fitzgerald, M. Hopkins, J. Bergstrom, G. Parry, M. Yakawich, B. Brown, J. Fuller, M. Cuffe, M. Lang, P. Green, G. Kmetz, T. Falk, J. Fitzpatrick, C. Sprunger, J. Etchart, R. Miner, W. Rusk, J. Trebas, J. Kassmier, B. Phalen, B. Beard, L. Deming, L. Hellegaard, T. Smith, F. Mandeville, Z. Wirth

By Request of the ****

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A CERTIFICATE OF NONVIABLE BIRTH; ESTABLISHING REQUIREMENTS FOR REQUESTING AND ISSUING A CERTIFICATE; PROVIDING RULEMAKING AUTHORITY; PROVIDING A DEFINITION; AND AMENDING Section 50-15-101, MCA.

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

Section 1. Certificate of nonviable birth -- requirements. (1) The department shall establish a certificate of nonviable birth on a form adopted by the department and meeting the requirements of subsection (4). On request by a parent, a certificate of nonviable birth must be filed and be provided to the parent.

(2) The department shall make available on its website information to advise a parent:

(a) of the manner in which a request for a certificate of nonviable birth may be made; and

(b) that the parent must request the certificate within 60 days of the nonviable birth.

(3) A request for a certificate of nonviable birth must:

(a) be made within 60 days of the birth on a form prescribed by the department by rule; and

(b) include the date of the nonviable birth and the county in which the birth occurred.

(4) The certificate of nonviable birth prepared by the department must contain:

(a) the date of the nonviable birth;

(b) the county in which the birth occurred;

(c) the name of the fetus. If the requesting parent does not wish to provide a name, the department shall fill in the certificate with the name "baby boy", "baby girl", or, if the sex of the child is unknown, "baby" and the last name of the parent as provided in 50-15-221.

(5) The following statement must appear on the front of the certificate: "This certificate is not proof of a live birth".

(6) A certificate of nonviable birth is a private commemorative document and is not a public record.

(7) It is a final agency action, not subject to review under the Montana Administrative Procedure Act, for the department to refuse to issue a certificate of nonviable birth to a person who has failed to provide information required by the department by rule for issuance of the certificate.

(8) The department may not use a certificate of nonviable birth to calculate live birth statistics.

(9) This section may not be used to establish, bring, or support:

(a) a civil cause of action seeking damages against any person or entity for bodily injury, personal injury, or wrongful death for a nonviable birth; or

(b) a criminal cause of action against any person or entity for a nonviable birth.

(10) The department shall adopt rules as to the form, content, and process for the certificate of nonviable birth.

Section 2. Section 50-15-101, MCA, is amended to read:

"50-15-101. Definitions. Unless the context requires otherwise, in parts 1 through 4 the following definitions apply:

(1) "Advanced practice registered nurse" means an individual who has been certified as an advanced practice registered nurse as provided in 37-8-202.

(2) "Authorized representative" means a person:

(a) designated by an individual, in a notarized written document, to have access to the individual's vital records;

(b) who has a general power of attorney for an individual; or

(3) "Dead body" means a human body or parts of a human body from which it reasonably may be concluded that death occurred.

(4) "Department" means the department of public health and human services provided for in 2-15-2201.

(5) "Dissolution of marriage" means a marriage terminated pursuant to Title 40, chapter 4, part 1.

(6) "Fetal death" means death of the fetus prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother as a product of conception, notwithstanding the duration of pregnancy. The death is indicated by the fact that after expulsion or extraction, the fetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles. Heartbeats are distinguished from transient cardiac contractions. Respirations are distinguished from fleeting respiratory efforts or gasps.

(7) "Final disposition" means the burial, interment, cremation, removal from the state, or other authorized disposition of a dead body or fetus.

(8) "Invalid marriage" means a marriage decreed by a district court to be invalid for the reasons contained in 40-1-402.

(9) "Live birth" means the complete expulsion or extraction from the mother as a product of conception, notwithstanding the duration of pregnancy. The birth is indicated by the fact that after expulsion or extraction, the child breathes or shows any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles. Heartbeats are distinguished from transient cardiac contractions. Respirations are distinguished from fleeting respiratory efforts or gasps.

(10) "Local registrar" means a person appointed by the department to act as its agent in administering this chapter in the area set forth in the letter of appointment.

(11) "Nonviable birth" means an unintentional, spontaneous fetal demise occurring after a heartbeat is detected but prior to the 20th week of gestation of a pregnancy that has been verified by a health care provider.

(11)(12) "Person in charge of disposition of a dead body" means a person who places or causes a dead body or the ashes after cremation to be placed in a grave, vault, urn, or other receptacle or otherwise disposes of the body or fetus and who is a funeral director, an employee acting for a funeral director, or a person who first assumes custody of a dead body or fetus.

(12)(13) "Physician" means a person legally authorized to practice medicine in this state.

(13)(14) "Registration" means the process by which vital records are completed, filed, and incorporated into the official records of the department.

(14)(15) "Research" means a systematic investigation designed primarily to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.

(15)(16) (a) "Stillbirth" means a fetal death occurring after a minimum of 20 weeks of gestation.

(b) The term does not include an abortion, as defined in 50-20-104.

(16)(17) "System of vital statistics" means the registration, collection, preservation, amendment, and certification of vital records. The term includes the collection of reports required by this chapter and related activities, including the tabulation, analysis, publication, and dissemination of vital statistics.

(17)(18) "Vital records" means certificates or reports of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, and dissolution of marriage and related reports.

(18)(19) "Vital statistics" means the data derived from certificates or reports of birth, death, fetal death, induced termination of pregnancy, marriage, and dissolution of marriage and related reports."

Section 3. Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 50, chapter 15, part 2, and the provisions of Title 50, chapter 15, part 2, apply to [section 1].