An effort is underway in the Legislature to have the state issue stillbirth certificates to parents of stillborn children. A birth certificate is issued when a child is born in Missouri, but not when a child is stillborn. A Senate bill aims to change that by having the state registrar issue a certification of stillbirth to any woman giving birth to a stillborn child. Lindsay Yates, who heads up the Missouri Chapter of the National Stillbirth Society, lost a child in this way. She tells a Senate committee a certificate would mean a lot. This is the second year in which Senator Sarah Steelman of Rolla is sponsoring this bill. She says concerns the bill might aid pro-life forces in the abortion debate have probablyprevented this legislation from becoming law. Last year’s bill failed to make it out of committee.
