Sec. 5. (a) Not more than twenty-four (24) hours after a woman has her miscarried fetus expelled or extracted in a health care facility, the health care facility shall:

(1) disclose to the parent or parents of the miscarried fetus, both orally and in writing, the parent’s right to determine the final disposition of the remains of the miscarried fetus;

Terms Used In Indiana Code 16-21-11-5

  • health care facility: means any of the following:

    Indiana Code 16-21-11-1

  • in writing: include printing, lithographing, or other mode of representing words and letters. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • medical record: means written or printed information possessed by a provider (as defined in Ind. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • miscarried fetus: means an unborn child, irrespective of gestational age, who has died from a spontaneous or accidental death before expulsion or extraction from the unborn child's mother, irrespective of the duration of the pregnancy. See Indiana Code 16-21-11-2
(2) provide the parent or parents of the miscarried fetus with written information concerning the available options for disposition of the miscarried fetus under section 6 of this chapter and IC 16-41-16-7.6; and

(3) inform the parent or parents of the miscarried fetus of counseling that may be available concerning the death of the miscarried fetus.

     (b) The parent or parents of a miscarried fetus shall inform the health care facility of the parent’s decision for final disposition of the miscarried fetus after receiving the information required in subsection (a) but before the parent of the miscarried fetus is discharged from the health care facility. The health care facility shall document the parent’s decision in the medical record.

As added by P.L.127-2014, SEC.4. Amended by P.L.213-2016, SEC.10.

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