Montana Code Annotated
Part 1. General Provisions
50-15-101. Definitions

50-15-101. Definitions. Unless the context requires otherwise, in parts 1 through 4 the following definitions apply:
(1) "Advanced practice registered nurse" means an individual who has been certified as an advanced practice registered nurse as provided in 37-8-202.
(2) "Authorized representative" means a person:
(a) designated by an individual, in a notarized written document, to have access to the individual's vital records;
(b) who has a general power of attorney for an individual; or
(c) appointed by a court to manage the personal or financial affairs of an individual.
(3) "Dead body" means a human body or parts of a human body from which it reasonably may be concluded that death occurred.
(4) "Department" means the department of public health and human services provided for in 2-15-2201.
(5) "Dissolution of marriage" means a marriage terminated pursuant to Title 40, chapter 4, part 1.
(6) "Fetal death" means death of the fetus prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother as a product of conception, notwithstanding the duration of pregnancy. The death is indicated by the fact that after 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 voluntary muscles. Heartbeats are distinguished from transient cardiac contractions. Respirations are distinguished from fleeting respiratory efforts or gasps.
(7) "Final disposition" means the burial, interment, cremation, removal from the state, or other authorized disposition of a dead body or fetus.
(8) "Invalid marriage" means a marriage decreed by a district court to be invalid for the reasons contained in 40-1-402.
(9) "Live birth" means the complete expulsion or extraction from the mother as a product of conception, notwithstanding the duration of pregnancy. The birth is indicated by the fact that after expulsion or extraction, the child 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. Heartbeats are distinguished from transient cardiac contractions. Respirations are distinguished from fleeting respiratory efforts or gasps.
(10) "Local registrar" means a person appointed by the department to act as its agent in administering this chapter in the area set forth in the letter of appointment.
(11) "Person in charge of disposition of a dead body" means a person who places or causes a dead body or the ashes after cremation to be placed in a grave, vault, urn, or other receptacle or otherwise disposes of the body or fetus and who is a funeral director, an employee acting for a funeral director, or a person who first assumes custody of a dead body or fetus.
(12) "Physician" means a person legally authorized to practice medicine in this state.
(13) "Registration" means the process by which vital records are completed, filed, and incorporated into the official records of the department.
(14) "Research" means a systematic investigation designed primarily to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.
(15) (a) "Stillbirth" means a fetal death occurring after a minimum of 20 weeks of gestation.
(b) The term does not include an abortion, as defined in 50-20-104.
(16) "System of vital statistics" means the registration, collection, preservation, amendment, and certification of vital records. The term includes the collection of reports required by this chapter and related activities, including the tabulation, analysis, publication, and dissemination of vital statistics.
(17) "Vital records" means certificates or reports of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, and dissolution of marriage and related reports.
(18) "Vital statistics" means the data derived from certificates or reports of birth, death, fetal death, induced termination of pregnancy, marriage, and dissolution of marriage and related reports.
History: En. Secs. 2, 41, Ch. 197, L. 1967; amd. Secs. 28, 48, Ch. 349, L. 1974; R.C.M. 1947, 69-4102(1), (2), 69-4401; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 228, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 402, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 104, Ch. 418, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 515, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 279, Ch. 546, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 91, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 258, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 474, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 14, L. 2021.