As used in this chapter:

Terms Used In North Dakota Code 23-02.1-01

  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Female: means a girl, woman, or an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Individual: means a human being. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Male: means a boy, man, or an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce sperm. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Property: includes property, real and personal. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Sex: means the biological state of being male or female, based on the individual's nonambiguous sex organs, chromosomes, or endogenous hormone profiles at birth. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49

1.    “Authorized representative” means a person that has the legal authority to act on behalf of the person named on a record, including a personal representative or guardian.

2.    “Birth record” means a record reporting a live birth.

3.    “Certified” means a copy of the original record on file with the department of health and human services which is signed and sealed by the state registrar or deputy state registrar.

4.    “Dead body” means a lifeless human body or parts of such body or bones thereof from the state of which it may reasonably be concluded that death recently occurred.

5.    “Electronic birth registration system” means the electronic birth registration system maintained by the department of health and human services.

6.    “Electronic death registration system” means the electronic death registration system maintained by the department of health and human services.

7.    “Facts of death” means the demographic and personal information pertaining to an individual‘s death.

8.    “Fetal death” or “birth resulting in stillbirth” means death occurring before the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception. The death is indicated by the fact that after such expulsion or extraction the fetus does not breathe or show any evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles.

9.    “Filing” means the presentation of a record, report, or other information provided for in this chapter of a birth, death, fetal death, adoption, marriage, divorce, or other event as specified by the department of health and human services for registration by the state registrar.

10.    “Final disposition” means the entombment, burial, interment, cremation, whole-body donation to a school of medicine, removal from the state, or other disposition of a dead body or fetus.

11.    “Health statistics” means data derived from records of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, or other records relating to the health of the populace or the state of the environment.

12.    “Homeless youth” means an individual under sixteen years of age living in one of the situations described in 42 U.S.C. § 11434(a)(2) and who is not in the care and physical custody of a parent or legal guardian.

13.    “Homeless youth agency” means an agency assisting a homeless youth in obtaining the homeless youth’s birth record.

14.    “Institution” means any establishment, public or private, which provides inpatient medical, surgical, or diagnostic care or treatment, or nursing, custodial, or domiciliary care to two or more individuals unrelated by blood, or to which individuals are committed by law.

15.    “Live birth” means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, regardless of the duration of pregnancy, which after such expulsion or extraction, breathes or shows any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached.

16.    “Medical certification” means the medical information pertaining to an individual’s death, including the cause and manner of death.

17.    “Miscarriage of birth” means the expulsion of a fetus from the womb, spontaneously or as a result of an accident, before twenty weeks gestation.

18.    “Personal or real property interests” means ownership or other legal rights or duties concerning personal or real property.

    19.    “Physician” means an individual authorized or licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy under chapter 43-17.

20.    “Registration” means the acceptance by the state registrar and incorporation into official records, reports, or other records provided for in this chapter, of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, or other records as may be determined by the department of health and human services.

21.    “Relative” means an individual’s current or surviving spouse, a parent or legal guardian, a child, a grandparent, or a grandchild. The state registrar may require proof of the relationship.

22.    “Sex” means the biological state of being female or male, based on the individual’s nonambiguous sex organs, chromosomes, or endogenous hormone profiles at birth.

23.    “Subregistrar” means a funeral practitioner or other suitable individual from a licensed funeral home who is appointed by the state registrar for the purpose of issuing final disposition-transit permits.

24.    “System of health statistics tabulation and analysis” includes the tabulation, analysis, and presentation or publication of statistical data derived from health statistics.

25.    “System of vital records registration” includes the registration, collection, preservation, amendment, and certification of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, or other records as may be determined necessary by the department of health and human services.