Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth Bill: Legislative Session has begun....

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Legislative Session has begun....

The 2009 NY legislative session has begun and with it, our determination to make this year the year that the Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth bill is passed.

We Need Your Help!

Take a few minutes and make two phone calls.

Those two calls will make all the difference this year. Your Senate and Assembly members want to hear from you. They want to know what is important to you. Tell them this bill is the one you want them to pass this year.

It Is Easy!

1. Log on to: http://nymap.elections.state.ny.us/nysboe/

Type in your address. Your representatives will be the last two names listed. Click on their names to view their web page.

2. Call their local offices.

Ask to speak to their Legislative Assistant regarding the Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth bill. (Senate sponsor: Bill Larkin; Assembly sponsor: Janele Hyer-Spencer)

3. Tell them you are a constituent (a voter in their district).

4. If no one is avaliable - ask to leave a message for the Legislative Assistant.

What To Say?

1. I am in support of the Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth bill. As a mother/father/grandparent/other & constituent I am watching this bill. I believe that families, like mine, who suffer the tragedy of having a stillborn child deserve to receive recognition of the birth with a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth. [briefly share your personal story - if you choose to]

2. Can I expect the Senator/Assemblyperson to vote YES when this bill comes up for any votes?

(Yes?) -- Thank them for their support. Mail a follow-up letter confirming and thanking them for their support. They will keep your letter along with other documents regarding the bill and refer to it prior to any voting they do.

(No?) -- Ask them to share the reason(s) why. Schedule an appointment to speak to the legislative assistant in person to share your personal story and discus why they should support the bill.

(Undecided?) -- Schedule an appointment with the legislative assistant to share your personal story and discuss why they should support the bill.

Whenever possible, make an appointment to speak to someone in person. A face-to-face meeting has more impact than a phone call, letter or email. Likewise, a phone call is more effective than a letter and lastly an email.

Contact Us.

Email Paige with confirmed YES/NO/UNDECIDED responses.

We will track votes to focus efforts where needed.

Thank you for your support!

No comments:

Quick Reference: How Can You Help?

1. Write to Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein.

She was the one assembly member who prevented the bill from being voted on at the end of session in 2009 & 2010.

Write to Weinstein. Tell her to allow the legislative procedure to work as it is suppose to. The CBRS bill deserves to have a vote.

2. Write to Senate Health Chair Thomas Duane. He is in charge of the Senate committee that failed to move this bill in 2009. As a newly appointed Health Chairman (2009), it never made it out of his committee. In 2007 & 2008, the full Senate passed the CBRS bill. Write to Duane. Tell him to move the bill out of his committee.

3. Write to your Senate & Assembly members. Continue to ask your Senate and Assembly members to support the bill. See sample letters below.

4. Ask your family & friends to write letters by forwarding this site:

Many letters, phone calls and emails are needed now to help pass this Bill in the 2010 Legislative session.

Legislators will only know this Bill is important if you let them know it is.

Sample Letter to Senator Thomas Duane

Senator Thomas Duane failed to move the CBRS Bill out of the health committee as Chair, during the 2009 & 2010 Legislative Session. In 2007 & 2008, the full Senate voted and PASSED the bill. His voting record was "NO" and "Excused".

Send an email/letter or call his office ~ ask him to allow the CBRS bill to be voted on in his Health committee.

[SAMPLE LETTER]

Senator Thomas Duane
430 Capital State Building
Albany, NY 12247

Re: Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth Bill [SUPPORT]

Dear Senator Duane,

As a supporter of women, I ask that you support the Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth bill.

The CBRS Bill was redrafted in 2007 by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, a dedicated supporter of women’s rights. The bill’s language is consistent with current laws and introduces no new language regarding birth and death (NYS public health law already describes a fetal demise as both a birth and a death). It simply gives bereaved parents the option of requesting a CBRS to acknowledge the childbirth they have endured when the unintended fetal demise occurs after 20 weeks’ gestation. The CBRS Bill does not threaten women’s rights in any way; the bill pertains only to stillbirth.

The childbirth endured is not recognized by the state but the death is. NYS requires a Certificate of Fetal Death to be filed and final disposition of a stillborn child’s body while simultaneously refusing to acknowledge the process of childbirth.

There is a lack awareness for this public health crisis and its devasting impact on grieving families. Nearly ten times more babies are stillborn every year than die of SIDS in New York State. Despite this, stillbirth remains where SIDS was 30 years ago – not well understood and lacking research. The CBRS will help increase awareness of this public health crisis and influence allocation of research dollars. Ignore the problem, fail to support the CBRS Bill, and you are contributing to the tragedy of stillbirth.

I urge you to support the CBRS Bill and allow it to come to a vote in the Health committee.

Sincerely,

NAME
Address & Phone

Sample Letter to send to your Representatives

Who is your Senate & Assembly member?

Contact them now. Ask them to support the Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth (CBRS) Bill. Your representatives need to hear from you. They want to hear from you on this issue.

[SAMPLE LETTER]

Name of Representative

Legislative Office Building

Albany, NY 12248

Re: Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth Bill [SUPPORT]

Dear _____:

I am writing to ask for your support of the Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth Bill (Hyer-Spencer). This legislation would allow parents whose children are stillborn the option to receive a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth to acknowledge the birth process.

Your support of this legislation will send a message of hope and compassion to bereaved parents who suffer the devastation of a stillbirth.

[Include personal story, if you choose to]

Nearly 30,000 babies are stillborn in the US every year, making it the leading cause of infant death. In half of all cases there is no medically discernible reason, causing many to liken it to an intrauterine SIDS. In fact, stillbirth kills more than tens times as many babies as SIDS every year.

Approximately 2,000 babies are stillborn in New York State annually, and for every stillborn a minimum of 10-20 people are affected. Thus, this issue impacts 20,000 - 50,000 individuals every year in New York State.

These certificates will bring much needed attention to this issue and may be instrumental in uncovering stillbirth's mysteries, thereby saving precious lives. You have the opportunity to enact legislation that has the potential to save lives and has zero cost implications.

Your community trust you to represent it. I urge your enthusiastic support of the Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth bill and will be following it closely.

Respectfully,

NAME Address & Phone

Why the CBRS Bill is important

In New York, if you have a stillbirth there is no acknowledgement of the birth process. Fetal death certificates are filed but not issued to the parents unless requested.

This legislation would allow parents whose children are stillborn the option to receive a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth to acknowledge the birth process.

Nearly 30,000 babies are stillborn in the US every year, making it the leading cause of infant death. In NYS, the number of deaths is reaching 2000. These certificates will bring much needed attention to this public health crisis.

We, Still Parents NY, are working to pass the Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth (CBRS) bill to honor the birth process for our families and the families listed.