Bill > SR62

This Resolution requests the Department of Health to issue certificates of stillbirth, which are not currently provided in Hawaii, unlike birth certificates for live births. The resolution acknowledges that stillbirths, affecting a significant number of families, have a profound emotional impact on parents who experience similar connections and processes to those with live births, and that current fetal death certificates can be a painful reminder. It highlights that other states already issue stillbirth certificates and that the federal government mandates reporting of fetal deaths separately from live births and deaths. Therefore, the Department of Health is asked to assess the feasibility of issuing these certificates, provide them to parents upon request if a fetal death certificate has been issued, and report its findings and any legislative recommendations to the Legislature by early 2023.