Maldonado's stillbirth bill goes to governor

SACRAMENTO - It’s now up to the governor to decide whether the state should officially acknowledge babies that die at delivery by allowing the parents to purchase a “certificate of still birth.”

Senate Bill 850 by Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, would authorize county registrars to issue certificates in the 3,400 cases of stillbirth that occur statewide annually.

Maldonado said his bill is intended to provide comfort to grieving parents.

“It is a huge victory for California women. It is a huge victory for California families,” Maldonado said, “and probably the most important bill of my legislative career.”

The bill passed the Senate Sept. 5 and is waiting to be sent to the governor along with dozens of other bills being passed in the final days of the regular 2007 legislative session.

Lawmakers are scheduled to wrap up their work for the year Friday but may shut down sooner.

A stillbirth is a naturally occurring fetal death that occurs after the 20th week of pregnancy under the terms of this bill.

Right now, the state issues a certificate of fetal death to establish the facts of the death with related medical and health data to be use for public health assessments.

SB 850 would create a “certificate of stillbirth” that parents could obtain for a fee up to $20.