ENROLLED
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 166
BY REPRESENTATIVE BURFORD
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Department of Health and Hospitals to study means by which to
allow for the burial of a fetus or fetal remains resulting from a loss of pregnancy at
less than twenty weeks' gestation, and to report recommendations to the legislative
committees on health and welfare.
WHEREAS, many women who have experienced the loss of an unborn child through
miscarriage or fetal death in utero speak of their deep grief over this loss; and
WHEREAS, it is not uncommon for parents facing such a loss to seek comfort in
their sorrow by pursuing a proper burial for their unborn child; and
WHEREAS, the care of the remains of the unborn is therefore a matter of great
significance; and
WHEREAS, both the medical and religious communities have identified the inability
of a family to bury the remains of their unborn child as an issue that merits serious
consideration by policymakers; and
WHEREAS, twenty-three states acknowledge the rights of parents to pursue the
burial of the remains of their unborn child; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana law currently lacks this affirmation of parents' rights, as the
applicable statute, R.S. 8:652, specifically exempts fetal remains from the requirement that
human remains must be properly buried or cremated, with the tragic result that fetuses and
fetal remains are classified legally in this state as "medical waste"; and
WHEREAS, if our state is to consistently uphold the dignity of each human being
and to facilitate honoring the sanctity of the human body from which life has passed in time-
honored traditions which bring solace and hope to the living, a prudent and just policy must
be created for giving the individual fetus the same respect as an infant, child, or adult who
dies.
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THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Department of Health and Hospitals to study means by which to allow
for the burial of a fetus or fetal remains resulting from a loss of pregnancy at less than
twenty weeks' gestation.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in developing the study, the department shall
engage, collaborate with, and obtain information and perspective from stakeholder groups
with appropriate expertise, including but not limited to the following organizations:
(1) The Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops.
(2) The Louisiana Funeral Directors Association.
(3) The Louisiana State Coroners Association.
(4) The Louisiana Hospital Association.
(5) The Louisiana Clerks of Court Association.
(6) The Louisiana Interchurch Conference.
(7) The Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System.
(8) The National Association of Social Workers, the Louisiana Chapter.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department shall provide the findings of this
study in the form of a report to the House Committee on Health and Welfare and the Senate
Committee on Health and Welfare on or before December 31, 2015.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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