District of Columbia Code
Chapter 2A - Vital Records, 2018
§ 7–231.14. Fetal death registration

(a)(1) An institution shall report electronically each death of a fetus that occurs in the District within 5 days after delivery; provided, that the fetus either:
(A) Has completed 20 weeks gestation or more, as calculated from the date that the last normal menstrual period began to the date of delivery; or
(B) Has a weight of 350 grams or more.
(2) The Registrar shall register a report of fetal death when the information is complete. An induced termination of pregnancy shall not be reported as a fetal death. For the purposes of preparing and filing a fetal death report, the following rules shall apply:
(A) When a fetus is delivered in an institution or en route thereto, the individual in charge of the institution, or his delegate, shall obtain all data required by the Registrar to prepare and submit the report;
(B) In obtaining the information required by the fetal death report, an institution shall use information gathering procedures and worksheets provided or approved by the Registrar;
(C) An institution may establish procedures to transfer, electronically or otherwise, information required by the fetal death report from other systems. The institution shall not implement such a procedure without review and approval by the Registrar;
(D) When a fetus is delivered outside an institution, the physician in attendance at or immediately following delivery shall prepare, electronically sign, and file the report;
(E) When a fetal death required to be reported by this section occurs without medical attendance immediately after the delivery, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall prepare and file the fetal death report; and
(F) When a fetal death occurs in a moving conveyance and the fetus is first removed from the conveyance in the District, or when a fetus is found in the District and the place of fetal death is unknown, the fetal death shall be reported in the District. The place where the fetus was first removed from the conveyance or the fetus was found shall be considered the place of fetal death.
(b) The name of the mother and second parent shall be entered on each fetal death report in accordance with rules issued by the Registrar pursuant to § 7-231.29. The second parent shall be the father or same-sex parent that has acknowledged parentage or whose parentage has otherwise been determined pursuant to § 16-909.01. If the cause of fetal death is unknown or pending investigation, this shall be noted on the report.
(Oct. 30, 2018, D.C. Law 22-164, § 114, 65 DCR 9324.)

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