The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Subchapter
002
:
FETAL DEATHS
(Cite as: 18 V.S.A. § 5222)
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§ 5222. Reports
(a)(1) The following fetal deaths shall be reported by the hospital, licensed health care
professional, or funeral director directly to the Commissioner within seven days after
delivery on forms prescribed by the Department:
(A) All fetal deaths of 20 or more weeks of gestation or, if gestational age is unknown,
of 400 or more grams, 15 or more ounces, fetal weight shall be reported.
(B) All therapeutic or induced abortions, as legally authorized to be performed, of any
length gestation or weight shall be reported.
(2) Spontaneous abortions and ectopic pregnancies of less than 20 weeks gestation are
not required to be reported.
(b) The licensed health care professional who treats a patient as a result of a miscarriage
or abortion shall report the fetal death if it is not known to be previously reported
under subsection (a) of this section. If there is evidence of violence or other unusual
or suspicious circumstances, the medical examiner shall be immediately notified, and
the medical examiner shall complete at least the medical items on the report. If a
funeral director is to be involved, the licensed health care professional may delegate
to the funeral director the responsibility for completing items other than those of
a medical nature. Similarly, the licensed health care professional may delegate the
responsibility for completion of nonmedical items to appropriate personnel having
access to records containing the information.
(c) If a fetal death occurs on a moving conveyance, the place of occurrence shall be given
as the town or city where removal from the vehicle took place.
(d) Reports made pursuant to this section are for statistical purposes only and are not
public records. They shall be kept confidential; shall not be disclosed or discoverable
in any civil, criminal, administrative, or other proceeding; and shall be destroyed
after two years. (Added 1973, No. 99, § 1; amended 2023, No. 53, § 122, eff. June 8, 2023; 2025, No. 20, § 9, eff. May 13, 2025.)