To repeal section 193.165, RSMo 1994, relating to vital statistics, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to the same subject.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:

Section A. Section 193.165, RSMo 1994, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 193.165, to read as follows:

193.165. 1. Each spontaneous fetal death of twenty completed weeks gestation or more, calculated from the date last normal menstrual period began to the date of delivery, or a weight of three hundred fifty grams or more, which occurs in this state shall be reported within seven days after delivery to the local registrar or as otherwise directed by the state registrar.

2. When a dead fetus is delivered in an institution, the person in charge of the institution or his or her designated representative shall prepare and file the report.

3. When a dead fetus is delivered outside an institution, the physician in attendance at or immediately after delivery shall prepare and file the report.

4. When a spontaneous fetal death required to be reported by this section occurs without medical attendance at or immediately after the delivery or when inquiry is required by the medical examiner or coroner, the medical examiner or coroner shall investigate the cause of spontaneous fetal death and shall prepare and file the report within seven days.

5. When a spontaneous fetal death occurs in a moving conveyance and the fetus is first removed from the conveyance in this state or when a dead fetus is found in this state and the place of the spontaneous fetal death is unknown, the spontaneous fetal death shall be reported in this state. The place where the fetus was first removed from the conveyance or the dead fetus was found shall be considered the place of the spontaneous fetal death.

6. The spontaneous fetal death report required under this section [is a statistical report to be used only for medical and health purposes and shall not] shall be incorporated into the permanent official records of the system of vital statistics. [A schedule for the disposition of these reports may be provided by department rules.]