HB 1250: Daniel Waters Act; enact

Georgia hospitals currently have no statewide requirement to offer specific bereavement support after a baby dies before, during, or shortly after birth. House Bill 1250, named the Daniel Waters Act, would add a new section to Georgia law directing the Department of Public Health to run a perinatal bereavement care initiative. Hospitals that receive funding through the initiative would have to offer expectant parents and family members counseling resources and, if available, a perinatal bereavement device (a device that can slow tissue deterioration for up to 72 hours) following a fetal death, neonatal death, or stillbirth. The department would prioritize hospitals that lack a bereavement device, treat more high-risk pregnancies, or handle more births than other hospitals. It could also accept outside gifts and grants for the program and would work with the Georgia Perinatal Quality Collaborative to recognize hospitals that provide this care. The whole Act only takes effect if the General Assembly specifically appropriates money for it, and it would be automatically repealed if no funds are appropriated by July 1, 2029.

• Creates a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-21) requiring funded hospitals to offer bereavement counseling and any available bereavement device after a fetal death, neonatal death, or stillbirth.
• Establishes a perinatal bereavement care initiative inside the Department of Public Health to fund training, devices, and other resources for hospitals.
• Directs the department to prioritize hospitals lacking bereavement devices, treating more high-risk pregnancies, or handling relatively more births.
• Allows the department to accept gifts, grants, or donations to support the initiative.
• Requires the department to work with the Georgia Perinatal Quality Collaborative to create a recognition program for hospitals offering this care.
• Makes the entire Act contingent on a specific legislative appropriation and automatically repeals it if no funds are appropriated by July 1, 2029.

Georgia hospitals licensed to provide basic perinatal services or that are children's hospitals, their maternal and neonatal care staff, expectant parents and family members who experience a fetal death, neonatal death, or stillbirth, and the Department of Public Health, which would administer the funding and training program.

Families experiencing the loss of a baby at qualifying hospitals could gain access to counseling and devices that let them spend more time with their child before burial. Whether this happens depends entirely on the legislature setting aside specific funding, without which the requirement never takes effect and expires by 2029.

• Section 1 names the bill the 'Daniel Waters Act.'
• Section 2 adds O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-21, defining terms like 'perinatal bereavement care,' 'perinatal bereavement device,' 'fetal death,' 'neonatal death,' and 'stillbirth.'
• Subsection (b) requires funded hospitals to offer counseling resources and available bereavement devices to parents and family members for the length of stay recommended by the attending physician.
• Subsection (c) creates the department's bereavement care initiative, letting it fund staff training, devices, device maintenance, and other resources, and accept outside gifts or grants.
• Subsection (c)(3) sets priority criteria for which hospitals receive resources first, based on device access, high-risk pregnancy volume, and birth volume.
• Subsection (d) directs the department to create a hospital recognition program with the Georgia Perinatal Quality Collaborative.
• Section 3 makes the Act effective only upon a specific appropriation and repeals it automatically if funds are not appropriated by July 1, 2029.

1. 2026-02-25House Committee Favorably Reported (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2026-02-11House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2026-02-10House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
4. 2026-02-09House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)Patrocinador principal
• Lee Hawkins (R, HD-027)
• Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)
• Katie Dempsey (R, HD-013)
• Jesse Petrea (R, HD-166)
• Sharon Cooper (R, HD-045)

• stillbirth and infant loss
• hospital care
• perinatal bereavement
• public health funding
• maternal health