Mothers of stillborns to get birth, not death, certificate
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Shawn Betts, left, and Tammy Tobac hold mementos of their stillborn children. The two will be in Harrisburg for the signing of the Missing Angels law.
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After waiting 43 years, Mary Lou Barron, 66, of Carrick, will finally obtain a birth certificate for her stillborn daughter in September. She delivered Patricia Arlene on Feb. 3, 1968.
She will join dozens of mothers in Harrisburg Wednesday morning to watch Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett sign a law allowing parents of stillborn children to apply to receive a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth from the state Department of Health. Previously, only death certificates were issued.
"It's a great thing that after all these years I'm going to be able to have this for my child," says Ms. Barron, who has four other children and nine grandchildren and regularly leaves pinwheels at Patricia's grave in West View.
"Every year, when that date rolls around, I see it as her birthday, not her death date," Ms. Barron says. "I'll say to my children, 'Your sister would have been 20 years old today.' And then, 10 years later, 'Your sister would have been 30.' I see that as a birthday, but I had nothing to prove it. The state didn't recognize it."
When she receives the certificate after the law takes effect Sept. 5, "I plan to go to my daughter's grave and let balloons go in her honor," she says.
Wednesday's signing comes after an 11-year lobbying effort to pass the bill, which makes Pennsylvania the 31st state with such a law. Like Ms. Barron, anyone who has had a stillbirth in the past can receive a birth certificate retroactively.
Often called the "Missing Angels" bill, the legislation was first passed in Arizona in 2001. It has been controversial here and elsewhere because it raised sensitive issues in the debate on abortion, with some abortion rights activists concerned it might legitimize the life of an unborn baby, though Planned Parenthood of Pennsylvania did not oppose the bill.
Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, sponsored the Senate Bill 326 in Pennsylvania and had introduced it three times before. "You hope that no one ever has to give birth to a child who is stillborn," he says. "Hopefully this legislation will allow these parents to get some form of closure at a very difficult time in their lives."
First Published July 25, 2011 12:00 am
