Local Lawmaker Proposes Bill for Parents of Stillborn Children

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Reported by: Stacy Daniel

CENTRAL COAST

A local lawmaker wants to help grieving parents of stillborn children and he's doing it by proposing, the Missing Angels Act.

We begin with the facts first.

• After hearing from hundreds of parents, State Senator Abel Maldonado takes action. He's urging the Senate Health Committee to pass Senate Bill 850.
• The bill allows parents delivering a stillborn child to get a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth.
• As it is now, they're only given a death certificate.

Last year, more than 3,000 families in California, gave birth to stillborn children.

Now those families are asking the state to recognize that they did give birth.

Senator Abel Maldonado decided to support Senate Bill 850 or the Missing Angels Act after hearing from hundreds of heartbroken families who wanted to leave the hospital with something other than a death certificate.

They said they want parents of stillborn children to be given a certificate that shows compassion as well as accuracy.

At the Senate Health Committee Wednesday in Sacramento, opponents expressed their concern over such a bill.

"We expressed that there's a lot of complexity about this area having to do with abortion rights and privacy just the documentation, what the purpose is of public document," said San Francisco Senator Democrat Carole Migden.

"We were given the death certificate and that's it. And we're here in Sacramento to get the state of California to do the right thing, the just thing and the compassionate thing for families," said Sunita Param, a mother of a stillborn.

Late Wednesday, it was decided the bill would be held in the Senate Health Committee.

Democrat committee members refused to vote on it, stating that it needed further clarification.

One out of every 100 pregnancies results in a stillborn baby, making it 10 times more common than sudden infant death syndrome.