Bill would inform parents of their rights after pregnancy loss

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., on Wednesday introduced a bill in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives drafted to support grieving parents after a miscarriage or stillbirth. The measure would require hospitals and freestanding birth centers to notify parents within six hours of their baby’s death about their options to bury, cremate, or allow the facility to dispose of their child’s remains. The bill would also allow anyone who was not properly informed about their options to file a civil lawsuit in federal court for relief. It is important for parents to receive clear information and support when they experience a miscarriage or stillbirth, Marshall said in a statement.

Why was this bill introduced? State laws and hospital policies vary across the country with regard to how fetal remains are handled, according to the organization Heaven's Gain Ministries. In most cases of stillbirth, when a baby dies after 20 weeks of pregnancy, their remains are handled the same way as any other person who has died and parents are given options for burial and cremation. But in the case of a miscarriage, some hospitals automatically treat the child’s remains as medical waste unless a parent explicitly requests an alternative. March of Dimes, a maternal and child health advocacy organization, estimates that between 10% and 30% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. The new bill, which has been labeled the Bereaved Parents’ Rights Act, is intended to provide clarity and to recognize the grief parents face when they lose a baby, said Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins. The organization drafted the measure.

Dig deeper: Read Christian Walker’s opinion piece about how she and her husband celebrate the lives of their babies they lost due to miscarriage.