Mainz (dpa/lrs) – The planned new Rhineland-Palatinate burial law is also intended to do justice to the pain and grief of parents of star children. This is the name given to babies who die shortly before, during or soon after birth.
If the mother or another parent dies at the same time or shortly after the star child, the new law provides for an exception. Then – at the request of a parent – the mother and child can be buried together, as Health Minister Clemens Hoch (SPD) announced.
Law should do justice to the grief of parents
“Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen to parents.” Saying goodbye takes time,” said the SPD politician to the German Press Agency in Mainz. “We want to guarantee people a place of mourning in the hour of greatest loss.”
This also applies to a joint burial with a parent who died in a timely manner, “especially in cases of fatal accidents or the death of the mother during childbirth,” says the Health and Science Minister.
The grief of the relatives is also remembered
The grief of close relatives is also acknowledged in the novella. They can therefore also apply for the burial of star children or the joint burial of the children with one parent – but only if the father and mother are no longer alive. So far, star children can only be buried at the request of a parent.
Burial law is more than 40 years old
The currently valid burial law is 41 years old and should be revised. The cabinet has already approved the amendment. A consultation process with associations and municipalities is currently underway. The draft is expected to come before the state parliament in spring 2025. The planned new law also allows burials at sea in some rivers and other types of burial.
The term “miscarriage” should be deleted
The word star children is based on the idea that these children reached the sky and the stars before they were even allowed to see the light of day, explained Ministry of Health spokesman David Freichel.
Many affected fathers and mothers find the term “miscarriage” offensive. It should therefore no longer appear in the amendment to the Funeral Act.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:241222-930-325141/1
