West Virginia Code 16-5-11 – Registration of infants and minors born with specified birth defects
(a) When a live birth occurs, the physician or midwife in attendance at, or present immediately after, the birth shall examine the infant for any of the following birth defects:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16-5-11
- Bureau: means the Bureau for Public Health within the Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health within the Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- 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 West Virginia Code 16-5-1
- Physician: means a person licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy pursuant to the laws of this state. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(1) Anencephaly;
(2) Spina bifida;
(3) Hydrocephaly;
(4) Cleft palate;
(5) Total cleft lip;
(6) Esophageal atresia and atenosis;
(7) Rectal and anal atresia;
(8) Hypospadias;
(9) Reduction and deformity – upper limb;
(10) Reduction and deformity – lower limb;
(11) Congenital dislocation of the hip;
(12) Down's syndrome;
(13) Visual impairments;
(14) Sickle cell anemia; and
(15) Others as may be requested by the commissioner.
(b) If any such impairment is found in an infant, or in any subsequent examination of any minor which has not been previously diagnosed, the examining physician, midwife or other health care provider licensed under chapter thirty of the code shall within thirty days of the examination make a report of the diagnosis to the state Registrar or other agency within the bureau as designated by the commissioner on forms provided by the bureau. The report shall include the name of the child, the name or names of the parents or parent or guardian, a description of the impairment and other related information as specified by the commissioner.
(c) The information received by the state Registrar or other agency within the bureau as designated by the commissioner pursuant to this section pertaining to the identity of the persons named shall be kept confidential: Provided, That if consent of a parent, or of the guardian is obtained, the state Registrar or other agency within the bureau as designated by the commissioner may provide the information to federal, state, and local government agencies so that the information can be utilized to provide assistance or services for the benefit of the child.