New York A 611: Relates to the disposition of fetal remains

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A00611 Summary:

BILL NOA00611 

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SAME ASSAME AS S00230

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SPONSOREichenstein

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COSPNSR

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MLTSPNSR

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Amd §§4160, 4162, 4200 & 1389-dd, Pub Health L

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Relates to the disposition of fetal remains.

Go to top A00611 Actions:

BILL NOA00611 

&nbsp

01/08/2025referred to health

01/07/2026referred to health

Go to topA00611 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA00611 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA00611 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 611

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 (Prefiled)

 January 8, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. EICHENSTEIN -- read once and referred to the
 Committee on Health

 AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the disposition of
 fetal remains

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Section 4160 of the public health law, as amended by chap-
 2 ter 436 of the laws of 1967, subdivision 2 as amended and subdivisions 4
 3 and 5 as added by chapter 809 of the laws of 1987 and subdivision 3 as
 4 amended by chapter 552 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as
 5 follows:
 6 § 4160. Fetal deaths; registration. 1. Fetal death is defined as death
 7 prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its [mother] gesta-
 8 tional parent of a product of conception; the death is indicated by the
 9 fact that after such separation, the fetus does not breathe or show any
 10 other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the
 11 umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles.
 12 2. A fetal death shall be registered within seventy-two hours after
 13 expulsion of [such fetus] a fetus of any gestational age, by filing
 14 directly with the commissioner a certificate of such death. In addition,
 15 a report of fetal death shall be reported to the registrar in the
 16 district in which the fetal death occurred.
 17 3. In the case of a spontaneous fetal death at any gestational age,
 18 the attending physician or a person designated by the hospital shall
 19 ensure that the gestational parent of the fetus is informed of the right
 20 to access the report of fetal death and to direct either burial, entomb-
 21 ment or cremation of the fetal remains.
 22 4. For the purposes of this article, a fetal death shall be considered
 23 as a birth and as a death except that, for a fetal death, separate birth
 24 and death certificates shall not be required to be prepared and
 25 recorded, except as provided in section forty-one hundred sixty-a of
 26 this title.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD00875-01-5

 A. 611 2

 1 [4.] 5. Local registrars of each district in which fetal death certif-
 2 icates were filed prior to the effective date of this subdivision shall
 3 dispose of such certificates in the manner prescribed by the commission-
 4 er.
 5 [5.] 6. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the
 6 disclosure of information filed pursuant to this section shall be limit-
 7 ed to the [mother] gestational parent, [her] the gestational parent's
 8 lawful representative and to authorized personnel of the department.
 9 § 2. Section 4162 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 809
 10 of the laws of 1987, is amended to read as follows:
 11 § 4162. Fetal deaths; burial and removal; permits. 1. The remains
 12 resulting from a spontaneous fetal death at any gestational age shall be
 13 released to the gestational parent of the fetus upon request and upon
 14 issuance of a permit pursuant to subdivision three of this section.
 15 2. A permit shall be required for the removal, transportation, burial
 16 or other disposition of remains resulting from a fetal death, other than
 17 fetal tissue, hydatidiform mole or other evidence of pregnancy recovered
 18 by curettage or operative procedures or other products of conception of
 19 under twenty weeks uterogestation.
 20 [2.] 3. Such permit shall be issued by the local registrar of the
 21 district in which the fetal death occurred upon presentation by the
 22 funeral director or the gestational parent of the fetus of a report of