Terms Used In Iowa Code > Chapter 144 - Vital Statistics

• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth: means a document issued based upon a properly filed fetal death certificate to record the birth of a stillborn fetus. See Iowa Code 144.31A
• Certificate of nonviable birth: means a document issued based upon a nonviable birth. See Iowa Code 144.31B
• Child: includes child by adoption. See Iowa Code 4.1
• clerk: means clerk of the court in which the action or proceeding is brought or is pending; and the words "clerk's office" mean the office of that clerk. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Cremated remains: means all the remains of the cremated human body recovered after the completion of the cremation process, including pulverization which leaves only bone fragments reduced to unidentifiable dimensions, and may include the residue of any foreign matter including casket material, bridgework, or eyeglasses that were cremated with the human remains. See Iowa Code 144.1
• Cremation: means the technical process, using heat and flame, that reduces human remains to bone fragments, with the reduction taking place through heat and evaporation. See Iowa Code 144.1
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Dead body: means a lifeless human body or parts or bones of a body, if, from the state of the body, parts, or bones, it may reasonably be concluded that death recently occurred. See Iowa Code 144.1
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Department: means the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing. See Iowa Code 154A.1
• Department: means the department of health and human services. See Iowa Code 144.1
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Descendent: One who is directly descended from another such as a child, grandchild, or great grandchild.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fetal death: means death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy. See Iowa Code 144.1
• Filing: means the presentation of a certificate, report, or other record, provided for in this chapter, of a birth, death, fetal death, adoption, marriage, dissolution, or annulment for registration by the department. See Iowa Code 144.1
• Final disposition: means the burial, interment, cremation, removal from the state, or other disposition of a dead body or fetus. See Iowa Code 144.1
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Health care provider: means the same as defined in section 144. See Iowa Code 144.31B
• Hospital: means the same as defined in section 135B. See Iowa Code 144.31B
• Institution: means any establishment, public or private, which provides inpatient medical, surgical, or diagnostic care or treatment, or nursing, custodial, or domiciliary care to two or more unrelated individuals, or to which persons are committed by law. See Iowa Code 144.1
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• License: means a license issued by the state under this chapter to a hearing aid specialist. See Iowa Code 154A.1
• Live birth: means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, which, after such expulsion or extraction, 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, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached. See Iowa Code 144.1
• month: means a calendar month, and the word "year" and the abbreviation "A. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Nonviable birth: means an unintentional, spontaneous fetal demise occurring after demonstration of a doppler-detected heartbeat and prior to the twentieth week of gestation during a pregnancy that has been verified by a health care provider. See Iowa Code 144.31B
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Person: means a natural person. See Iowa Code 154A.1
• Registration: means the process by which vital statistic records are completed, filed, and incorporated by the department in the department's official records. See Iowa Code 144.1
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Rule: includes "regulation". See Iowa Code 4.1
• Signature: includes an electronic signature as defined in section 554D. See Iowa Code 4.1
• State: means a state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See Iowa Code 152E.3
• State registrar: means the state registrar of vital statistics. See Iowa Code 144.1
• Stillbirth: means stillbirth as defined in section 136A. See Iowa Code 144.31A
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• System of vital statistics: includes the registration, collection, preservation, amendment, and certification of vital statistics records, and activities and records related to the records including the data processing, analysis, and publication of statistical data derived from such records. See Iowa Code 144.1
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Unencumbered: means that a state has no current disciplinary action against an advanced practice registered nurse's license or authority to practice. See Iowa Code 152E.3
• United States: includes all the states. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Vital statistics: means records of births, deaths, fetal deaths, adoptions, marriages, dissolutions, annulments, and data related to the records. See Iowa Code 144.1
• week: means seven consecutive days. See Iowa Code 4.1
• year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1