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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
SENATE BILL 916 By: Jett
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to vital records; amending 63 O.S.
2021, Section 1-311, as last amended by Section 1,
Chapter 87, O.S.L. 2022 (63 O.S. Supp . 2022, Section
1-311), which relates to birth certificates;
requiring birth certificates to include section for
pre-birth for certain infants; directing State
Department of Health to issue pre-birth certificate
under certain conditi ons; granting pre-birth
certificate same validity as other birth
certificates; requiring attending physician or other
healthcare professional to create separate medical
file for unborn child u nder certain condition ;
requiring submission of necessary documentation for
specified purpose; providing for codification; and
providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 1-311, as
last amended by Section 1, Chapter 87, O .S.L. 2022 (63 O.S. Supp.
2022, Section 1-311), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1-311. A. A certificate of birth for each live birth
which occurs in this state shall be filed with the State Regist rar
of Vital Statistics, within seven (7) days afte r the birth.
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B. When a birth occurs in an institution, the person in charge
of the institution or a designated representative shall obtain the
personal data, prepare the certificate and secure the signatu res
required by the certificate. The physician in attendance shall
certify to the facts of birth and provide the medical information
required by the certificate within five (5) days after the birth.
C. When a birth occurs outside an institution, the cert ificate
shall be prepared and filed by one of the f ollowing in the indicated
order of priority:
1. The physician in attendance at or immediately after the
birth;
2. Any other person in attendance at or immediately after the
birth; or
3. The father, the mother or, in the absence or inability of
the father or mother, the person in charge of the premises where the
birth occurred and present at the birth.
D. 1. If the mother was married at the time of birth, or
married at any time during the three hundred (300) calendar days
before the birth, the name of t he husband shall be entered on the
certificate as the father of the child unless paternity has been
determined otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction or a
husband’s denial of paternity form has bee n filed along with an
affidavit acknowledging pater nity, in which case the name of the
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father as determined by the court or affidavit acknowledging
paternity shall be entered.
2. If the mother was not married at the time of birth, nor
married at any time during the three hundred (300) calendar days
before the birth, the name of the father shall be entered on the
certificate of birth only if:
a. a determination of paternity has been made by an
administrative action through the Department of Human
Services or a court of competent jurisdiction, in
which case the name of the father shall be entered, or
b. the mother and father have signed an acknowledgement
of paternity pursuant to Section 1 -311.3 of this
title, or substantially similar affidavit from another
state and filed it with the State Registrar of Vital
Statistics.
E. Either of the parents of the child shall sign the
certificate of live birth worksheet to a ttest to the accuracy of the
personal data entered thereon, in time to permit its filing within
the seven (7) days prescribed in this section.
F. If the live birth results from a process in which the
delivering mother was carrying the child of another wom an by way of
a prearranged legal contract, the original birth certificate shall
be filed with the personal information of the woman who delivered
the child. A new birth certificate will be placed on file once the
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State Registrar receives both a court orde r and a completed form
prescribed by the State Registrar which identifies the various
parties and documents the personal information of the intended
parents necessary to complete the new birth certificate.
G. Beginning on the effective date of this act July 26, 2022,
the biological sex designation on a certificate of birth issued
under this section sh all be either male or female and shall not be
nonbinary or any symbol representing a nonbinary designation
including but not limited to the letter “X”.
H. A certificate of birth issued under this section shall
include, for any infant who has a pre -birth certificate issued under
Section 2 of this act, a section for pre-birth which shall document
the date of the first documented heartbeat of the child.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be co dified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1-316.1 of Title 63, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. The State Department of Health shall issue a pre -birth
certificate to pregnant women in this state who apply for such
certificate on behalf of their unbo rn child and submit such
documentation as may be required by the State Department of Health
to verify the first documented heartbeat of the unborn child. The
first documented heartbeat shall be the date that is documented on
the pre-birth certificate. The pre-birth certificate shall be
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issued within seven (7) days of receipt of all necessary information
or documentation.
B. A pre-birth certificate issued under this section shall have
the same validity as any other birth certificate issued by the
Department for all purposes including, but not limited to,
insurance, public benefits, and legal purposes.
C. Upon the first documented heartbeat of an unborn child by
the attending physician or other healthcare professional of a
pregnant woman, as determined by a fetal doppler or obstetric
ultrasound, the attending physician or other healthcare professional
shall create a separate medical record file for the unborn child .
At the request of the pregnant woman or the Department, the
physician or healthcare p rofessional shall submit documentation
necessary for any verification required under subsectio n A of this
section within seven (7) days of the request .
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
59-1-1627 DC 1/19/2023 10:42:27 AM