Stillborn Babies are Human too!

We, the undersigned, who are residents and voters in the State of New York, are not only confused but appalled with the indifferent and insensitive administrative process taken by our State that subsequently invalidates the existence as well as the very birth of our stillborn children. We ask for the enactment of legislation and changes in current State procedures, that would provide the issuance of a %u201CCertificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth%u201D; hold medical professionals accountable for prenatal malpractice when their negligence may have caused or prevented a baby to be stillborn; and allow pregnant women who are unable to work due to a High-Risk pregnancy to maintain their private health insurance at a lower cost than COBRA offers to continue their prenatal care with their private doctor.

In the State of New York, there are more stillbirths than anywhere else in the Nation, yet the State of New York refuses to do the medically appropriate and psycholgically right thing to do- acknowledge stillborn babies with a "Certifcate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth" or "Stillbirth Birth Certificate". In the State of New York, there are 10undocumented Stillbirths for every 1 documented SIDS case, thus affecting more than 30,000 families a year. 

In the State of New York, mothers who carry a baby 20 weeks (5 months) or beyond, but then through no fault of their own, give birth to a human stillborn child, are NOT issued a "Certificate of Birth" of any kind for their child. Current procedures and laws in the State of New York will not allow for it. We do, however, require an acknowledgment of that same child's death by issuing the mother a Death certificate, or a "Certificate of Fetal Death" to be precise, that asks for the exact information as does a Certificate of Birth.

As of 2008 many states have recognized the medical appropriate and pyscollogical need for the issuance of a "Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth" or "Stillbirth Birth Certificate". These states include, but are not limited to, Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, South Dakota, North Dakota, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Florida, Utah, Georgia, New Jersey, Conneticut,  West Virginia, California, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Alabama, New Mexico, Rhode Island and North Carolina. Other states validate the birth of a stillborn child by giving parents the option of a "Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth" or a %u201CCertificate of Stillbirth%u201D for a fee. These legal documents serve to provide validation, legitimacy, and help bereaved parents through the grieving and healing process following the death of their child.
This is not a "Right to Life" or a "Right to Choose" issue but common sense and closure for the families affected by stillbirth. How can the State of New York issue a Report or "Certificate of Fetal Death" for a child without officially acknowledging that child was born and then require burial of that child's body? How can the State of New York show more care for the stillbirth of a horse's foul than the stillbirth of a human baby that came from a human woman's womb?

By electronically signing this petition you affirm that you are at least 18 years of age and a citizen of the United States that fully supports the enactment of legislation and changes in procedures in thr State of New York, that would provide for the issuance of a %u201CCertificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth%u201D and hold doctor's accountable when their professional neglience can be linked to causing a baby to be stillborn rather than having the State of New York perpetuate their currently invalidating, cold, and heartless procedures that stillborn mothers take.