(a)  The director of health may, by regulation and upon conditions that he or she may prescribe to assure compliance with the purposes of this chapter, provide for the extension of the periods prescribed in §§ 23-3-16, 23-3-17, and 23-3-18 for the filing of death certificates, fetal death certificates, medical certifications of cause of death, and for the obtaining of burial-transit permits in cases in which compliance with the applicable prescribed period would result in undue hardship.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-19

  • Fetal death: means death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy; the death is indicated by the fact that after the expulsion or extraction the fetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of the voluntary muscles. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-1
  • Filing: means the presentation of a certificate, report, or other record provided for in this chapter, of a birth, death, fetal death, adoption, marriage, or divorce for registration by the division of vital records. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-1

(b)  Regulations of the director of health may provide for the issuance of a burial-transit permit under § 23-3-18 prior to the filing of a certificate of death or fetal death upon conditions designed to assure compliance with the purposes of this chapter in cases in which compliance with the requirement that the certificate be filed prior to the issuance of the permit would result in undue hardship.

History of Section.
P.L. 1961, ch. 87, § 1.