2005S0111-1 01/24/05
By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 271
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the issuance of a certificate of birth resulting in
stillbirth on request of a parent.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 192, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 192.0022 to read as follows:
Sec. 192.0022. CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH RESULTING IN
STILLBIRTH. (a) In this section:
(1) "Stillbirth" means an unintended, intrauterine
fetal death occurring in this state after a gestational age of not
less than twenty completed weeks.
(2) "Certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth"
means a birth certificate issued to record the birth of a stillborn
child.
(b) The person who is required to file a fetal death
certificate under Section 193.002 shall advise the parent or
parents of a stillborn child:
(1) that a parent may, but is not required to, request
the preparation of a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth;
(2) that a parent may obtain a certificate of birth
resulting in stillbirth by contacting the Department of State
Health Services Vital Statistics Unit to request the certificate
and paying the required fee; and
(3) regarding the way or ways in which a parent may
contact the Department of State Health Services Vital Statistics
Unit to request the certificate.
(c) A parent may provide a name for a stillborn child on the
request for a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth. The
person who prepares the certificate shall leave blank any
references to the stillborn child's name if the requesting parent
does not wish to provide a name.
(d) The department shall prescribe the form and content of a
certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth and shall specify the
information necessary to prepare the certificate.
(e) A parent may request the Department of State Health
Services Vital Statistics Unit to issue a certificate of birth
resulting in stillbirth without regard to the date on which the
fetal death certificate was issued.
(f) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission may adopt rules necessary to administer this
section.
SECTION 2. Not later than the 60th day following the
effective date of this Act, the Department of State Health Services
Vital Statistics Unit shall prescribe the form and content of a
certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth and specify the
information necessary to prepare the certificate as required by
Section 192.0022, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. A parent may request the Department of State
Health Services Vital Statistics Unit to prepare and issue a
certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth without regard to
whether the fetal death occurred on, before, or after the effective
date of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.