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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 240 FILED ON: 1/12/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 105 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Joan B. Lovely |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to supporting families dealing with sudden unexplained death in pediatrics. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Joan B. LovelySecond Essex 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 240 FILED ON: 1/12/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 105 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Ms. Lovely, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 105) of Joan B. Lovely for |
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| 19 | 19 | | legislation relative to supporting families dealing with sudden unexplained death in pediatrics. |
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| 20 | 20 | | Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities. |
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| 21 | 21 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 22 | 22 | | SEE SENATE, NO. 126 OF 2021-2022.] |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act relative to supporting families dealing with sudden unexplained death in pediatrics. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 Section 2A of chapter 38 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting the |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2following paragraph:- |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3 (h) In all cases of sudden unexpected death in pediatrics when autopsy is required by law, |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4except in cases of (1) homicide, (2) suicide or (3) established cause, the office of the chief |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5medical examiner shall, on behalf of the parents of the deceased, engage services including, but |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6not limited to, genetic testing and ongoing bereavement support. The office of the chief medical |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7examiner shall refer, as close to the time of incident as possible, but no longer than three days |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8after receipt of the decedent, any undetermined death of a child three years of age or younger to |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9the Massachusetts center for unexpected infant and child death at Boston Medical Center for |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10counseling and grief support. These referrals shall include any suspected case of sudden infant 2 of 2 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11death syndrome, sudden unexplained infant death, sudden unexpected death in childhood, sudden |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12unexplained death in pediatrics or any sudden child death likely to remain unexplained by |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13standard autopsy and investigation. |
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