I
am writing to you as a mother of two children. One a docile 19 month old,
and the other an eternal newborn. My second son Brody died this past February
one week shy of his due date. He was stillborn and as a result, I have
no record with the state that his life ever existed – neither a birth or
a death certificate. Yet, I assure you he was very much alive, and his
legacy will live on in the lives of not only his family, but those he touched
by his untimely departure. In many ways he has touched souls that were
untouchable by any living person here on earth, those souls needed a more
heavenly touch which my son provided.
There is a
Bill sitting in the NC Senate, Bill 1077 – Birth Certificate/Stillborn
infants or Hunter’s Bill. Hunter’s Bill, if passed would provide families
the comfort that their child was very much alive and is being honored and
recognized as a life. It allows for future generations to know how many
children a family was actually blessed with and to see into the heartache
of those families who lost their children at or near birth. It allows the
full story to be told on a child whose voice was quieted before it had
the chance to cry out. Hunter’s Bill would apply to stillborn babies of
gestational age 20 weeks and older, and will be retroactive.
When a mother
or father loses a child to stillbirth, they are denied more than just the
dream of what may have been. They are denied ever holding that life in
their arms or hearing it. The state adds insult to injury by wiping the
life out of the records – as if to say that it did not matter. I assure
you that my son’s life had a far greater purpose than any of us will ever
know, and my heart would take great comfort in knowing that future generations
can discover this life – can discover Brody W. Cox, in our state records
and know that he was alive – even if only for 39 weeks.
We are at risk
of this Bill not passing, as the public does not know that it is sitting
in the Committee on Healthcare. I am asking you to consider writing your
Senators to ask for their support and to ensure that this Bill is not lost,
but is passed. I am asking you to ensure that Brody is not lost – that
thousands of other tiny lights of life are not lost.
Please write
to me at Kieledcox@gmail.com or visit www.brodyfly.com and I will provide
you the name and numbers of who you can contact to help move this Bill
through. Thank you for getting involved and helping to change the history
of North Carolina.
