Debate contribution: Deaths, Still-Births and Baby Loss Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Eóin Tennyson on 7 April 2025.

MLA

Mr Eóin Tennyson

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

7 April 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Deaths, Still-Births and Baby Loss Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4890973

Read the official Assembly record

Text

The loss of a baby during pregnancy can be a deeply traumatic experience for parents, but it is too often met in our society with silence or treated as though it is taboo. Pregnancy loss affects approximately one in four pregnancies, yet, sadly, when that occurs prior to 24 weeks, support for and acknowledgement of that loss is, as Members have said, in some cases, non-existent. We have heard repeatedly from parents who experienced loss, from the health professionals and organisations that care for them and from campaigners that much more needs to be done. I pay tribute to and thank the women, parents and campaigners, including my colleague Kellie Armstrong, who, for years, have told their personal stories with enormous courage and selflessness in pursuit of change on this important subject. That is why I support the Deaths, Still-Births and Baby Loss Bill as an important step towards a more compassionate and progressive approach to baby loss in our society. As others have said, the Bill will make permanent the temporary provisions introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic that allowed documentation relating to deaths and stillbirths to be transmitted electronically. Since the pandemic, that has become the norm, and it is important that we make that permanent in order to consolidate the modern and more efficient interaction with the registration service that people now enjoy at the happiest as well as the saddest points in their life. From my perspective, the most important element of the Bill is the enabling power to create regulations for a baby loss certificate scheme and finally recognise losses before 24 weeks. Whilst every family will deal with its grief differently and some may not wish to access a baby loss certificate, it is important that that option is there to provide comfort and acknowledgement of a loss for those who wish to utilise it. The scheme will bring Northern Ireland into line with Scotland and England. As other Members have mentioned, it is important that we learn from the experiences of other jurisdictions in respect of the scope and cut-off point for any certification scheme, as the initial proposals in England felt arbitrary and were met with legitimate criticism from campaigners. I somewhat share the disappointment that we are debating an enabling function rather than a fully fledged and consulted-on scheme in a Bill. I appreciate, however, the constraints that existed when the Minister and his predecessor took office and that there has been creativity in getting us to this point. I welcome the commitment to public consultation to ensure that families and those who have been affected by baby loss can input fully into the design of the scheme. I welcome the ambitious time frame in wanting to have the scheme up and running by the end of the year. I would be grateful if the Minister, in his response, could detail exactly what we expect the timeline to be as we move from the Bill's Final Stage to getting the secondary legislation passed and the scheme operationalised. In addition to the provisions in respect of deaths and stillbirths, the Bill proposes to update the Civil Registration Act 2011 and the Births and Deaths Registration Order 1976 to enable a second female parent to register a stillbirth without the mother being present and to ensure that same-sex female parents can register a birth or stillbirth in the same manner as opposite-sex parents can. That is a small but incredibly important step forward for equality, ensuring that everyone, no matter their background or identity, will be treated with fairness, dignity and respect as they navigate the registration process. Like every other Member who has spoken, I welcome and support the Bill. I look forward to engaging with it further as it progresses through the remainder of its legislative hurdles in the Assembly.

638 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:20 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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