House Committee advances bill to allow mothers to receive birth certificates for a child lost from miscarriage

On Wednesday, the Alabama House Health Committee voted to give a favorable report to legislation allowing mothers whose preborn children were lost due to miscarriage or through a stillbirth to receive a state-issued birth certificate.

House Bill 55 (HB55) is sponsored by State Representative Juandalynn Givan.

“I have the honor today to present to you HB55, which, if entitled, will be called the Genesis Act,” Givan said.

According to the synopsis, “Under existing law, a nonviable birth that occurs before the twentieth week of gestation is not reported to the Office of Vital Statistics, and a parent of a nonviable birth that occurs before the twentieth week of gestation may not request a certificate of birth. Also, under existing law, a parent of a fetal death occurring after 20 weeks of gestation may request a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth. This bill would create the Genesis Act to require the Alabama Department of Public Health to adopt rules allowing for the parents of a nonviable birth occurring before the twentieth week of gestation to request a Certificate of Nonviable Birth.”

Givan said that she is representing the mothers who have lost children before the twentieth week of gestation and that they want to be able to petition the state for documentation on the loss of that preborn child.

“I want someone to know that the life that I carried mattered,” Givan said that the mothers supporting this legislation feel. “I want someone to know that that baby was loved and mattered to me.”

“After 20 weeks of gestation, a parent can request a birth certificate from the Health Department,” Givan said, explaining that her bill would extend that to include pregnancies lost between ten weeks and nineteen weeks.

Givan said that HB55 would permit the State Department of Health to do so and that the Health Department supports the legislation.

“Dr. Scott Harris (the state health officer) shared the story of how his mother went through the same thing when young in life,” Givan said.

State Rep. Paul Lee, a Republican from Dothan, chairs the House Health Committee.

“Everyone received the amendment last night, and it is in your packet,” Chairman Lee said.

The Committee voted to adopt the amendment.

Givan explained that the Health Department would issue the nonviable birth certificate within 50 days after the request is made.

“Florida was the first state to pass this into law in 2019,” Givan explained. “Other states have followed.”

Rep. Phillip Rigsby motioned to give the bill a favorable report.

The Committee voted unanimously to give HB55 a favorable report. HB55 could be considered by the full Alabama House of Representatives as early as Tuesday.

Givan was joined in the committee hearing by a delegation of mothers whose children had been lost through miscarriage. Givan introduced the mothers to the Committee and thanked the members for the favorable report.

As of Monday, 471 bills have been filed in the 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session.

Tuesday will be day 8 of the regular session. The Alabama Constitution limits the regular session to no more than thirty legislative days during a regular session.

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