FIRST REGULAR SESSION
92ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES RUPP, SMITH (14), PARKER, DAVIS (19), DEMPSEY,
BEARDEN, LEMBKE, NIEVES, BRUNS, EMERY (Co-sponsors), KELLY (144), HOBBS, RECTOR,
THRELKELD, ROARK, SUTHERLAND AND PHILLIPS.
Read 1st time March 19, 2003, and copies ordered printed.
STEPHEN S. DAVIS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To amend chapter 194, RSMo, by adding thereto six new sections relating to the disposition of fetal remains act, with a penalty provision.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 194, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto six new sections, to be known as sections 194.375, 194.378, 194.381, 194.384, 194.387, and 194.390, to read as follows:
194.375. 1. Sections 194.375 to 194.390 shall be known and may be cited as the "Disposition of Fetal Remains Act".
2. As used in sections 194.375 to 194.390, the following terms mean:
(1) "Final disposition", the burial, cremation, or other disposition of the remains of a human fetus following a spontaneous fetal demise occurring after a gestation period of less than twenty completed weeks;
(2) "Remains of a human fetus", the fetal remains or fetal products of conception of a mother after a miscarriage, regardless of the gestational age or whether the remains have been obtained by induced, spontaneous, or accidental means.
194.378. In every instance of fetal death, the mother has the right to determine the final disposition of the remains of the fetus, regardless of the duration of the pregnancy. The mother may choose any means of final disposition authorized by law or by the director of the department of health and senior services.
194.381. 1. The final disposition of the remains of a human fetus may be by cremation, interment by burial, incineration in an approved medical waste incinerator, or other means authorized by the director of the department of health and senior services. The disposition shall be in accordance with state law or administrative rules providing for the disposition. If the remains are disposed of by incineration, the remains shall be incinerated separately from other medical waste.
2. No religious service or ceremony is required as part of the final disposition of the remains of a human fetus.
194.384. Every hospital, outpatient clinic, and any other health care facility licensed to operate in this state shall adopt written standards for the final disposition of the remains of a human fetus as provided in sections 194.375 to 194.390 for protection of a mother's right pursuant to section 194.378 and for notice as required in section 194.387.
194.387. 1. Within twenty-four hours after a miscarriage is induced, or occurs spontaneously or accidentally at a hospital, outpatient clinic, or any other health care facility, the facility shall disclose to the mother of the miscarried fetus, both orally and in writing, the mother's right to determine the final disposition of the remains of the fetus. The facility's disclosure shall include giving the mother a copy of the facility's written standards adopted pursuant to section 194.384.
2. The facility shall make counseling concerning the death of the fetus available to the mother. The facility may provide the counseling or refer the mother to another provider of appropriate counseling services.
194.390. Any person who violates the provisions of sections 194.375 to 194.390 is guilty of a class C misdemeanor. Nothing in sections 194.375 to 194.390 shall be construed to prohibit a woman's ability to obtain a legal abortion.