(a) Prior to final disposition of fetal remains in accordance with § 39-15-219, regardless of the duration of pregnancy, the funeral director, the person in charge of the institution, or other person assuming responsibility for final disposition of the fetus, shall obtain from the mother authorization for final disposition on a form prescribed and furnished, or approved by the state registrar.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 68-3-506

  • Final disposition: means the burial, interment, cremation, removal from the state or other authorized disposition of a dead body or fetus. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
  • Institution: means any establishment, public or private, that provides inpatient or outpatient medical, surgical or diagnostic care or treatment or nursing, custodial or domiciliary care, or to which persons are committed by law. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) When the demise of the fetus is the result of a surgical abortion, a copy of the mother’s authorization for disposition, specifying the means of the disposition, shall be appended to the informed consent signed by the mother prior to the procedure pursuant to § 39-15-202.
(c) After final disposition, the authorization shall be retained for a period of three (3) years by the funeral director, the person in charge of the institution, or other person making the final disposition.
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