Ohio Code 3705.20 – Fetal death certificate
(A) The fetal death of the product of human conception of at least twenty weeks of gestation shall be registered on a fetal death certificate.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 3705.20
- Cremation: means the reduction to ashes of a dead body. See Ohio Code 3705.01
- 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, which after such expulsion or extraction 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. See Ohio Code 3705.01
- Funeral director: has the meaning given in section 4717. See Ohio Code 3705.01
- Interment: means the final disposition of the remains of a dead body by burial or entombment. See Ohio Code 3705.01
- Live birth: means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception that 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 Ohio Code 3705.01
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Registration: means the acceptance by the office of vital statistics and the incorporation of vital records into its official records. See Ohio Code 3705.01
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
On application of the funeral director or either parent, the fetal death of the product of human conception prior to twenty weeks of gestation shall be registered on a fetal death certificate, except that the fetal death certificate shall not list the cause of death.
The funeral director or the parent shall include with the application a copy of the statement required by division (B)(1) of section 3727.16 or division (B)(1) of section 4731.82 of the Revised Code. If the father submits the application, he shall also include with it a signed and notarized document from the mother attesting that she voluntarily provided the father with a copy of the statement.
A fetal death certificate for the product of human conception prior to twenty weeks gestation is not proof of a live birth for purposes of federal, state, and local taxes.
(B) The product of human conception of at least twenty weeks of gestation that suffers a fetal death occurring in Ohio shall not be interred, deposited in a vault or tomb, cremated, or otherwise disposed of by a funeral director or other person until a fetal death certificate or provisional death certificate has been filed with and a burial permit is issued by the local registrar of vital statistics of the registration district in which the fetal death occurs, or the body is found.
A burial permit for the product of human conception that suffers a fetal death prior to twenty weeks of gestation shall be issued by the local registrar of vital statistics of the registration district in which the fetal death occurs if the funeral director or either parent files a fetal death certificate with that registrar.
(C)(1) The department of health and the local registrar shall keep a separate record and index record of fetal death certificates.
(2) The personal or statistical information on the fetal death certificate shall be obtained by the funeral director or other person in charge of interment or cremation from the best qualified persons or sources available.
(D) When a burial permit is issued under division (B) of this section for the product of human conception of at least twenty weeks of gestation that suffers a fetal death, the local registrar shall inform the parent or parents listed on the fetal death certificate or provisional death certificate of the option of applying for a certificate that is issued under division (B)(3) of section 3705.23 of the Revised Code.
Last updated July 15, 2022 at 2:06 PM