Advocacy

We believe that families of stillborn children deserve:

• Family Medical Leave Act benefits
• Insurance coverage for fetal autopsies
• Tax relief
• Standardized protocols for evaluating and documenting stillbirths
• Standardized care after a stillbirth occurs
• Improved research on stillbirth risk identification and management

Star Legacy Foundation is proud to advocate for policies and legislation that support families who have experienced perinatal loss and will help us learn more about preventing these deaths. When action is needed, we will post the information below. If you are interested in advocacy for your state, please let us know how we can help you by contacting us at [email protected]

To learn more about enacted legislation in your state click here.

Current Efforts:

• United States:
  • Farley-Kluger Act: Would expand FMLA benefits to families grieving the death of a child of any age up to 18 years (including stillbirth).
• New York
  • Stillbirth Tax Credit – would provide a one-time dependent child tax credit for families experiencing a stillbirth
• New Jersey
  • Stillbirth Tax Credit – would provide a one-time dependent child tax credit for families experiencing a stillbirth
• Wisconsin
  • Stillbirth Tax Credit – would provide a one-time dependent child tax credit for families experiencing a stillbirh
• Iowa

Recent Efforts:

• North Dakota
  • 2017 – North Dakota became the 6th state in the country to approve a one-time tax deduction for families experiencing stillbirth.
• Minnesota
  • 2016 – Minnesota became the 5^th state in the country to approve a one-time dependent child tax credit for families experiencing stillbirth
  • 2015 – Minnesota legislature recommended the development of a Stillbirth Working Group to report to the Minnesota Maternal Child Health Task Force