By SALLY GOLDENBERG
June 16, 2008
State lawmakers want mothers of stillborn babies to be granted the option to receive official certificates documenting the stillbirth.
Under a bill that has passed the Senate and is awaiting a vote in the Assembly's Ways and Means Committee, mothers could choose to receive papers that would note: "This certificate is not proof of live birth" and shouldn't be used to calculate statistics.
As advocates gathered outside City Hall yesterday, several parents shared their stories.
"The first time I held my son, Daniel, was the single saddest moment of my life," said Staten Islander Jeff Tieger, whose first child was stillborn on Feb. 8, 2007. ". . . Not another minute should go by before [this bill] is passed."
His wife, Lori, gave birth to a daughter, Samantha, three months ago.
