NY State Senate Bill 2025-S5222

Senate Bill S5222

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Permits midwives and physician assistants to certify the cause of death on a fetal death certificate

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 19, 2025	referred to health

co-Sponsors

2025-S5222 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1351
Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §4161, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S8466, A9093
2023-2024: S3451, A7390

2025-S5222 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Permits midwives and physician assistants to certify the cause of death on a fetal death certificate if they are in attendance at or after a fetal death.

2025-S5222 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5222

SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to certification of
fetal death certificates by a midwife or physician assistant

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Permits midwives and physician assistants in attendance at or after a
fetal death to certify the birth and cause of death on the fetal death
certificate.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 4161 of the Public Health Law, as it relates to
fetal death certificates, forms, and content, to add midwives and physi-
cian assistants to the statute governing which healthcare practitioners
may certify a fetal death on a fetal death certificate.

Section 2 provides an effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Under current state law, physicians and nurse practitioners in attend-
ance at a fetal death can certify the birth and cause of death on a
fetal death certificate and categorize fetal deaths attended by midwives
as "death without medical attendance." Midwives already certify the
birth of newborns and this bill would allow midwives to certify the
death.

Midwives who work in labor and delivery are also there to console griev-
ing parents and families if a fetal death occurs, so being unable to
certify death creates delays that prolong the immediate and unimaginable
grief stage. Prolonging such a traumatic experience at this delicate
time adversely affects maternal mental health. Families are unable to
make arrangements for burial and must wait until a doctor shows up to
sign. Sometimes this can take days and becomes particularly stressful
for the family. This bill would allow midwives and physician assistants
to certify death on a fetal death certificate to expedite patient care.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: S8466 Rivera/A9093 Gottfried

2023-2024: S3451 Rivera/A7390 Gonzalez-Rojas

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Effective immediately.

2025-S5222 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5222
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 19, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  RIVERA,  CLEARE, MYRIE, SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read
   twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to  the
   Committee on Health
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the public health law, in relation to certification of
   fetal death certificates by a midwife or physician assistant

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Section 4161 of the public health law, as amended by chap-
 ter 436 of the laws of 1967, the section heading and subdivisions 2  and
 3 as amended by chapter 153 of the laws of 2011, subdivisions 1 and 4 as
 amended  by  chapter  352  of  the  laws  of 2013, is amended to read as
 follows:
   § 4161. Fetal death certificates; form and content[; physicians, nurse
 practitioners, midwives, and hospital administrators].   1. The  certif-
 icate  of  fetal  death and the report of fetal death shall contain such
 information and be in such  form  as  the  commissioner  may  prescribe;
 provided  however  that  commencing  on or after the implementation date
 under section forty-one hundred forty-eight of this article, information
 and signatures required by this subdivision shall be obtained  and  made
 in  accordance  with section forty-one hundred forty-eight of this arti-
 cle, except that unless requested by the [woman] BIRTHING PARENT neither
 the certificate nor the report of fetal death shall contain the name  of
 the [woman] BIRTHING PARENT, [her] THE BIRTHING PARENT'S social security
 number  or  any  other information which would permit [her] THE BIRTHING
 PARENT to be identified except as  provided  in  this  subdivision.  The
 report  shall state that a certificate of fetal death was filed with the
 commissioner and the date of such filing. The commissioner shall develop
 a unique, confidential identifier to be used on the certificate of fetal
 death to be used in connection with the exercise of  the  commissioner's
 authority  to  monitor the quality of care provided by any individual or
 entity licensed to perform an abortion in this state and to permit coor-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03295-01-5

 S. 5222                             2
 
 dination of data concerning the  medical  history  of  the  [woman]  THE
 BIRTHING  PARENT  for  purposes  of  conducting  surveillance scientific
 studies and research pursuant to the  provisions  of  paragraph  (j)  of
 subdivision one of section two hundred six of this chapter.
   2.  In  each case where a physician [or], nurse practitioner, MIDWIFE,
 OR PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT was in attendance at or after a fetal  death,  it
 is  the duty of such [physician or nurse] practitioner to certify to the
 birth and to the cause of death on the fetal death certificate. [Where a
 nurse-midwife was in attendance at a fetal death it is the duty of  such
 nurse-midwife  to  certify to the birth but, he or she shall not certify
 to the cause of death on the fetal death certificate.]
   3. Fetal deaths occurring without the attendance of  a  [physician  or
 nurse] practitioner as provided in subdivision two of this section shall
 be  treated  as  deaths  without medical attendance, as provided in this
 article.
   4. When a fetal death occurs in a  hospital,  except  in  those  cases
 where  certificates  are  issued  by  coroners or medical examiners, the
 person in charge of such hospital or [his or her] SUCH  PERSON'S  desig-
 nated  representative  shall  promptly  present  the  certificate to the
 physician [or], nurse practitioner, MIDWIFE, OR PHYSICIAN  ASSISTANT  in
 attendance,  or a physician [or], nurse practitioner, MIDWIFE, OR PHYSI-
 CIAN ASSISTANT acting [in his or her] ON SUCH PRACTITIONER'S behalf, who
 shall promptly certify to the facts of birth and of fetal death, provide
 the medical information required by the certificate,  sign  the  medical
 certificate of birth and death, and thereupon return such certificate to
 such  person,  so  that  the  seventy-two  hour  registration time limit
 prescribed in section four thousand one hundred sixty of this title  can
 be met; provided, however that commencing on or after the implementation
 date under section forty-one hundred forty-eight of this article, infor-
 mation and signatures required by this subdivision shall be obtained and
 made  in  accordance  with section forty-one hundred forty-eight of this
 article.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S5222

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Sponsored By

Gustavo Rivera