I read this article today and I am thrilled that this law has finally passed. This law would not have effected my husband and I, Jenny became an angel baby at 19 weeks, but this does effect my sister. My sister delivered a beautiful boy, Ryan, 13 years ago, sadly Ryan had passed away in utero the day before. Even sadder still my sister was denied Baptism and a Catholic burial for her son because, according to her Pastor the Rite of Baptism is reserved for children who breathed air after delivery! Since Ryan never 'breathed air' my sister's Pastor refused to acknowledge the emergency Baptism performed at the hospital (a Catholic hospital to note) and since Ryan wasn't really Baptized he was not eligible to receive a Catholic burial or funereal mass. Are you following this logic?. And then to add to her pain and hurt she then found out that the State of Pennsylvania essentially agreed with the Church in that no Birth Certificate would be issued because Ryan died BEFORE he was delivered! Regardless, Ryan WAS alive for almost 9 months in utero! The State was kind enough to issue a Death Certificate for Ryan, something I'll never have for Jenny because we lost her 2 days before the 20th week (Pennsylvania acknowledges stillbirths as occurring from the 20th week gestation to delivery)! I just love politics, don't you? The point is we must look forward from here, never again will a woman in Pennsylvania have to come home from something as horrible as a still birth with nothing more than a box of Kleenex. Yes, I know nearly all hospitals have special policies and procedures, special services and Memory Boxes to make it "easier". But none of these things confirms that your child did live. For moms this is so important. We carried the baby/babies. We felt the kicks and rolls and pokes in a way only a woman carrying a baby inside her can. In many cases the mother is the first, and sometimes the only, family member to hear the baby's heartbeat. And to then to give her pictures and souvenirs of her baby but never acknowledge the child's existence is cruel indeed. We have very little to remember Jenny by, which is very hard and seems to get harder every day as I fear I am forgetting what few memories I have. We only have one ultrasound, thankfully of her face but that's it. We never got to hold Jenny, we have no pictures at the hospital and nothing from her memorial service. I can't imagine having Jenny twice as long as we did and then be told she was never really alive. This new law is a big step in the right direction in helping families dealing with pregnancy loss/stillbirths; acknowledging that a child DID exist even if the child passed away before delivery. Kudos to the our legislatures for recognizing this important step in the healing process.
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