Senate Bill 6025 amends existing Washington vital records law (RCW 70.58A.010) by changing how "fetal death" is defined. Instead of referencing the date of the last menstrual period, the bill requires that gestational age be determined "at the date of death based on the best clinically accurate gestational age." Under the amended definition, a fetal death is a product of conception showing no evidence of life after complete expulsion or extraction that is not an induced termination of pregnancy and that either (a) has completed twenty or more weeks of gestation at the date of death using the clinically accurate gestational age, or (b) weighs 350 grams or more if gestational weeks are not known. This is a definitional and procedural change to an existing statute rather than the creation of a new crime or penalty. The bill also provides a comprehensive set of definitions and clarifications for terms used in the chapter (for example: adult, delayed report of live birth, final disposition, funeral director/establishment, human remains, live birth, induced termination of pregnancy, medical certifier, medical examiner, midwife, physician, registration, sealed record, state registrar, and the vital records system). It specifies who may serve as a medical certifier for deaths and fetal deaths (including physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice registered nurses, midwives in fetal death cases, and certain physicians performing autopsies) and includes qualification timing (treatment within the prior twelve months in certain circumstances). The Department of Health, state and local registrars, coroners and medical examiners, licensed health professionals, licensed facilities, funeral directors, and defined government agencies are among the affected entities. The act sets time limits for its parts: Section 1 expires June 30, 2027, and Section 2 takes effect June 30, 2027. The bill passed the Senate on February 10, 2026 (48-0) and the House on March 3, 2026 (91-2). Some important context is missing from the extracted text: the contents of "Section 1" and "Section 2" as placed in the act are not fully included here, a second amendment heading to RCW 70.58A.010 appears in the materials and its relationship to the primary amendment is unclear, and no additional implementation or procedural details beyond the provided definitions and dates are available in the extracts.

If enacted, medical providers and death investigators will shift from using the date of the last menstrual period to using whatever clinicans judge to be the most accurate gestational age at the date of death when deciding whether a pregnancy loss meets the threshold for a fetal death (20 weeks) or must instead be handled as an earlier loss. That change will likely change which losses require fetal death registration and formal certification, so physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses, midwives (who are explicitly listed as able to certify fetal deaths), coroners/medical examiners, and local and state registrars will face more responsibility to assess and document gestational age at death and to complete related paperwork; families and funeral providers may see different options or requirements for final disposition depending on that classification. The Department of Health and vital records offices will need to accept and process records under the new standard and may need to train staff and certifiers, creating modest administrative costs and a risk of inconsistent classification during the transition that could affect vital statistics counts. The bill sets Section 2 to take effect June 30, 2027 and Section 1 to expire June 30, 2027, but the extracted material does not show the full contents of those sections or other implementation details, so the timing and precise operational steps state agencies must take remain unclear.