Permits midwives and physician assistants to certify the cause of death on a fetal death certificate if they are in attendance at or after a fetal death.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9093
IN ASSEMBLY
January 31, 2022
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to certification of
fetal death certificates by a midwife or physician assistant
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 4161 of the public health law, as amended by chap-
2 ter 436 of the laws of 1967, the section heading and subdivisions 2 and
3 3 as amended by chapter 153 of the laws of 2011, subdivisions 1 and 4 as
4 amended by chapter 352 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as
5 follows:
6 § 4161. Fetal death certificates; form and content[; physicians, nurse
7 practitioners, midwives, and hospital administrators]. 1. The certif-
8 icate of fetal death and the report of fetal death shall contain such
9 information and be in such form as the commissioner may prescribe;
10 provided however that commencing on or after the implementation date
11 under section forty-one hundred forty-eight of this article, information
12 and signatures required by this subdivision shall be obtained and made
13 in accordance with section forty-one hundred forty-eight of this arti-
14 cle, except that unless requested by the woman neither the certificate
15 nor the report of fetal death shall contain the name of the woman, her
16 social security number or any other information which would permit her
17 to be identified except as provided in this subdivision. The report
18 shall state that a certificate of fetal death was filed with the commis-
19 sioner and the date of such filing. The commissioner shall develop a
20 unique, confidential identifier to be used on the certificate of fetal
21 death to be used in connection with the exercise of the commissioner's
22 authority to monitor the quality of care provided by any individual or
23 entity licensed to perform an abortion in this state and to permit coor-
24 dination of data concerning the medical history of the woman for
25 purposes of conducting surveillance scientific studies and research
26 pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (j) of subdivision one of
27 section two hundred six of this chapter.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14366-02-2
A. 9093 2
1 2. In each case where a physician [or], nurse practitioner, midwife,
2 or physician assistant was in attendance at or after a fetal death, it
3 is the duty of such [physician or nurse] practitioner to certify to the
4 birth and to the cause of death on the fetal death certificate. [Where a
5 nurse-midwife was in attendance at a fetal death it is the duty of such
6 nurse-midwife to certify to the birth but, he or she shall not certify
7 to the cause of death on the fetal death certificate.]
8 3. Fetal deaths occurring without the attendance of a [physician or
9 nurse] practitioner as provided in subdivision two of this section shall
10 be treated as deaths without medical attendance, as provided in this
11 article.
12 4. When a fetal death occurs in a hospital, except in those cases
13 where certificates are issued by coroners or medical examiners, the
14 person in charge of such hospital or his or her designated represen-
15 tative shall promptly present the certificate to the physician [or],
16 nurse practitioner, midwife, or physician assistant in attendance, or a
17 physician [or], nurse practitioner, midwife, or physician assistant
18 acting in his or her behalf, who shall promptly certify to the facts of
19 birth and of fetal death, provide the medical information required by
20 the certificate, sign the medical certificate of birth and death, and
21 thereupon return such certificate to such person, so that the seventy-
22 two hour registration time limit prescribed in section four thousand one
23 hundred sixty of this title can be met; provided, however that commenc-
24 ing on or after the implementation date under section forty-one hundred
25 forty-eight of this article, information and signatures required by this
26 subdivision shall be obtained and made in accordance with section
27 forty-one hundred forty-eight of this article.
28 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
