Legally registering miscarried foetuses?

Should couples be allowed to name and officially register the birth/death of their miscarried foetuses? What do you think? Where do you draw the line?

Legalise fetus status - church
5:00AM Thursday February 21, 2008

PARIS - France's Roman Catholic Church has called for embryos to be given a clear legal status following a court decision that let parents of miscarried fetuses enter them with a name in the official civil registry.

Groups opposed to abortion in many countries have long argued for a legal status for embryos as the first step towards having courts rule that abortion is a form of murder. Abortion rights supporters vigorously oppose any such status.

But Paris Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, head of the French bishops' conference, said establishing this status would not undermine legal abortion in France because of the way the law allowing the termination of pregnancies was constructed.

The Cour de Cassation, France's highest appeals court, ruled on February 6 that a miscarried fetus could be entered into the civil registry if a couple wished to commemorate it that way.

- REUTERS

SOURCE:http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=1500859&objectid=10493579&ref=rss

At the moment the law in NZ is that you can register babies born after 20 weeks or weighing more than 400g if you want to but you're not legally required to until a later gestation, not 100% sure whether that's 24 or 26 weeks.

I agree, it's a tough one. I mean, on the one hand I think it's a bit silly to register a fetus miscarried at say 6 or 7 weeks when you don't even know the gender, but then who's to say that a baby born at 19 weeks 6 days is any less 'worthy' of being registered than one born at 20 weeks 0 days? I guess you have to draw a line somewhere.

yeah that is a hard one. I thought it was all something to do with if they had taken a breath or not or is that just if you have to have a funeral? I know my friend who had her wee boy at 19 weeks were told they didnt have to have a funeral because he hadnt taken a breath (he died during the labour) but when you see him he was completely developed etc.. looking baby and the thought that you would just let the hospital 'dispose' of him was disgusting. so I guess to me, if they are actually formed and look like a baby then I would want to acknowledge that but if they are still just eggs/cells then maybe I wouldnt worry so much.

I think its more of an option if they havent taken a breath like you can do it for closure etc.. but if they have taken a breath you have to register the birth and have a funeral of some sort.

That's a tough one, I'm not really sure. I agree that it may be best to have it voluntary up to a point and then mendatory ie after the pregnancy becomes viable.

Technically, you aren't obliged to have a funeral for anyone, there are just rules you have to adhere to for burial etc, and that must be done through the correct channels. For Babies, to be classed as a stillbirth, they must be over a certain weight (400g) and gestation period, then you get a death certificate only. The breath thing only comes into play as if they have breathed, or be born live, you must register the birth as well as the death.

It is a hard situation, we lost our twins at 19 weeks 5 days after finding out at our 19 week scan that we had conjoined twins (siamese). I had them naturally and was told we would not have to register them because they were under 20 weeks. When we went to pick the boys ashes up from the funeral director they told us we had to register them, I wasn't in much of a state and didn't know what to do. We went back to the hospital adn their advocacy people were great, it turned out that we did have to register them becuase they weighed over 400 gms - because we had asked that they not be seperated, so we tried to fill out the forms but we couldn't do that because there is no box for siamese twins (funny that!) when they ask was this twin first or second born so the people at Births deaths and marriages said we could only register them as 1, I was devestated but did as we were told. I went back to work a week or so later and was still a bit upset over it, my principal was also upset for me and she contacted our local MP, Jacquie Dean, who meet the head of Births Deaths and Marriage and to make a long story short, they changed the rules and my boys now both have a birth certificate and death certificates, which means a lot.

Sorry for the long post but this is quite a big thing to me

That's such a sad story Jessica, it sucks that there has to be so much red tape around these things I'm glad you were able to have your wee babes recognised.