(a)  The state registrar of vital records shall establish a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth for fetal deaths, defined as the naturally occurring intrauterine death of a fetus that occurs after the twentieth (20th) week of pregnancy. The certificate shall be issued only at the request of either individual listed as mother or father on the report of fetal death. The certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth shall meet all of the format requirements for a certificate of live birth as provided for in this chapter. If the parents of the stillborn child decide not to name the stillborn child, the person preparing a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth shall leave blank any references to the stillborn child’s name.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-10.2

  • 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; the death is indicated by the fact that after the 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 the voluntary muscles. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-1
  • Live birth: means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, that, after that expulsion or extraction, breathes or shows any other evidences of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of the voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-1
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Vital records: means records of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, and data related to those records. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-1

(b)  The certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth shall be filed with the state registrar of vital records within ten (10) days after the delivery. When a birth resulting in stillbirth occurring in the state has not been registered within one year after the date of delivery, a certificate marked “delayed” may be filed and registered in accordance with regulations of the department of health promulgated pursuant to the provisions of § 23-3-3 relating to evidentiary and other requirements sufficient to substantiate the alleged facts of birth resulting in stillbirth.

History of Section.
P.L. 2007, ch. 24, § 1; P.L. 2007, ch. 26, § 1.