Children: protection; reporting death of a newborn after surrender to a newborn safety device; expand. Amends sec. 2843 of 1978 PA 368 (MCL 333.2843).
Summary
HB 4368 amends Michigan’s Public Health Code section governing death reporting to clarify how deaths are reported when a funeral director first takes custody of a body. The bill expressly includes, within the term “dead body,” the body of an infant who survived an attempted abortion and later died, tying that language to Michigan’s Born Alive Infant Protection Act. It also restates the existing requirement that funeral directors obtain personal information and that medical certification of death be completed within 48 hours by the appropriate physician, medical examiner, or other authorized official depending on where the death occurred.
The bill also addresses deaths of infants who were born alive after an attempted abortion and then surrendered under Michigan’s Safe Delivery of Newborns law. In those cases, the death must be reported like any other death, but the infant must be listed as “Baby Doe,” and identifying information about the infant and parents, including names and addresses, may not be reported. The bill would take effect 90 days after enactment, but only if House Bill 4067 is also enacted, making it part of a linked legislative package.
Impact
HB 4368 would amend MCL 333.2843 in the Public Health Code to expand and clarify death-reporting procedures for certain infant deaths, while preserving existing filing deadlines and certification duties for funeral directors and physicians. It would also create a confidentiality rule for records involving infants born alive after an attempted abortion and later surrendered under the Safe Delivery of Newborns law, requiring the death record to use the placeholder name “Baby Doe” and omit direct identifying information for the infant and parents. The bill does not appear to change the general structure of Michigan death registration law, but it would add a specific reporting and privacy framework for these sensitive cases.
Sentiment
Based on the bill title and text, the measure appears to be framed as a child-protection and reporting clarification bill, with no recorded committee testimony or votes available in the provided materials. The language suggests support for ensuring that deaths of newborns are formally reported while also protecting privacy in cases involving surrendered infants. Because there is no transcript or vote history, the broader legislative sentiment cannot be measured directly, but the bill’s structure indicates an effort to balance reporting requirements with confidentiality.
Contention
The most notable point of contention is likely the bill’s treatment of infants who survived an attempted abortion, which is politically and legally sensitive because it connects death-reporting rules to abortion-related circumstances. Another possible area of concern is the confidentiality provision: while it protects parents and infants from direct identification, some may view the “Baby Doe” designation and nondisclosure rules as either necessary privacy protections or as limiting transparency in public records. The bill also depends on enactment of House Bill 4067, indicating it is part of a broader package and may have been intended to move in tandem with related legislation.