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2020 Tennessee Code
Title 68 - Health, Safety and Environmental Protection
Chapter 3 - Vital Records Act of 1977
Part 5 - Deaths
§ 68-3-509. Commemorative Certificates of Nonviable Birth
Universal Citation: TN Code § 68-3-509 (2020)
- As used in this section:
- “Commemorative certificate” means a document commemorating a nonviable birth;
- “Department” means the department of health; and
- “Nonviable birth” means an unintentional, spontaneous fetal demise occurring prior to the twentieth week of gestation during a pregnancy that has been verified by a healthcare practitioner.
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- A healthcare practitioner licensed pursuant to title 63 who attends or diagnoses a nonviable birth, or a healthcare facility licensed pursuant to this title at which a nonviable birth occurs, may, based on the practitioner's best medical judgement and knowledge of the patient, advise a patient who experiences a nonviable birth that the patient may request a commemorative certificate from the department of health as provided in this section. The healthcare practitioner may delegate this duty to the practitioner's designee. The healthcare practitioner or the practitioner's designee shall provide the patient with a form provided by the department pursuant to subdivision (b)(2) and executed by the healthcare practitioner or the practitioner's designee.
- The department shall provide on the department's website a form to be executed by a healthcare practitioner or the practitioner's designee affirming that a patient experienced a nonviable birth that the healthcare practitioner attended or diagnosed.
- Upon the request of the patient and submission of the executed form, the department shall issue a commemorative certificate within sixty (60) days after receipt of the request. The department shall charge a fee not to exceed its actual cost for issuing the commemorative certificate.
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- The commemorative certificate must contain the name of the fetus and the sex, if known. If the name is not furnished by the patient, the department shall fill in the commemorative certificate with the name Baby Boy or Baby Girl and the last name of the patient, and if the sex of the child is also unknown, the department shall fill in the commemorative certificate with the name Baby and the last name of the patient.
- The following statement must appear on the front of the commemorative certificate:
This commemorative certificate is not proof of a live birth.
- The department shall not register the birth associated with a commemorative certificate issued under this section or use it to calculate live birth statistics. The commemorative certificate is commemorative in nature and has no legal effect.
- A commemorative certificate issued under this section must not be used to establish, bring, or support a civil cause of action seeking damages against any person or entity for bodily injury, personal injury, or wrongful death for a nonviable birth.
- A commemorative certificate issued under this section is not a public record.
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