- (a) The State Registrar shall prescribe and distribute a form for a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth. The certificate shall be in the same format as a certificate of live birth prepared under Section 12 and shall be filed in the same manner as a certificate of live birth.
- (b) After each fetal death that occurs in this State after a gestation period of at least 20 completed weeks, the State Registrar of Vital Records shall, only upon request by a parent named on the fetal death certificate, prepare and issue a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth.
- (b-5) A person who files a fetal death certificate as described under subsection (b) shall notify the gestational parent of the stillborn of that parent's right to request and receive a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth under subsection (b). The Department shall develop language for notification under this subsection. This language shall be titled and known as a "Liam's Law notice".
- (c) If the stillborn's parent or parents do not wish to provide a name for the stillborn, the person who prepares the certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth shall leave blank any references to the stillborn's name.
- (d) When a stillbirth occurs in this State and the stillbirth has not been registered within one year after the delivery, a certificate marked "delayed" may be filed and registered in accordance with regulations adopted by the State Registrar. The certificate must show on its face the date of registration.
- (e) In the case of a fetal death that occurred in this State after a gestation period of at least 20 completed weeks and before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, a parent of the stillborn child may request that the person who filed a fetal death certificate in connection with that death as required under Section 20 shall also prepare a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth with respect to the fetus. If a parent of a stillborn makes such a request under this subsection (e), the person who filed a fetal death certificate shall prepare the certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth and file it with the designated registrar within 30 days after the request by the parent.
(Source: P.A. 103-948, eff. 7-1-25.)