New legislation aims to offer a standard operating procedure for families grieving a miscarriage or stillbirth, ensuring that parents can arrange a funeral after pregnancy loss if they wish to do so.
Miscarriage and stillbirth are incredibly common: More than 21,000 babies are lost to stillbirth each year in the U.S. alone, and some 20% of pregnancies are estimated to end in miscarriage.
Along with the heartbreak of losing a child, for many parents there is an added tragedy of not being able to lay to rest their baby’s body, as these babies’ bodies are often disposed of as medical waste.
Parents may not even know that they have the option to hold a funeral, as some grieving parents choose to do after a miscarriage. (If you are planning a funeral for an unborn baby, you may wish to know that the Trappist monks of New Melleray Abbey give away their child and infant caskets free of charge to families who need them, and that many Catholic cemeteries include a special burial place for unborn children.)
This new legislation seeks to give parents options and make sure that all parents are fully notified of their rights and options.
The Bereaved Parents’ Rights Act
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, brings a special perspective to this issue since he practiced as an obstetrician-gynecologist for more than 25 years before entering politics. Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Florida, is sponsoring a companion version in the House. The issue is a personal one for her as Cammack previously suffered an ectopic pregnancy.
Marshall and Cammack introduced the bill, called “The Bereaved Parents’ Rights Act,” to ensure hospitals and freestanding birth centers provide clear information about the rights that grieving parents have regarding the cremation or burial of their miscarried or stillborn child.
Where current laws vary by state, The Bereaved Parents’ Rights Act would require that a hospital or birth center notify parents within 6 hours or before discharge of their rights to a burial, and inform them of how to get their babyʼs body to a funeral home to have a funeral if they choose.
Students for Life Action (SFLA) helped to develop this legislation. SFLA organized a briefing on May 13 at the Heritage Foundation in which women who have experienced miscarriage and/or stillbirth shared their personal stories, urging lawmakers to advance the bill. SFLA president Kristan Hawkins said in a statement:
Many hospitals throw away miscarried babies’ bodies like medical waste without consulting the parents, denying grieving parents the chance to memorialize their precious baby. The Bereaved Parents’ Rights Act would right this immeasurable wrong by ensuring that every parent gets the opportunity to honor the life of their baby following a miscarriage as they see fit.
Politics aside, parents being notified about their rights to bury their child is not a partisan issue. Codifying this notification into law can bring healing and closure to the millions of families affected by pregnancy losses.
