Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-02-13
SHOULD BE ENFORCED.
The Law In Relation to Reporting
 Births In This State.

The Law In Relation to keportlnS
 Births In This State.
 Every doctor in Connecticut and every registrar has received copy of the fol lowing circular sent out by order of the state board of health on the matter of re- porting births occurring in this state:
 Every physician, or midwife, who shall have professional charge of the mother at the birth of any child, and every attendant who may act as midwife at such time. where no physician or mid wife is employed, shall, during the first week of the month next succeeding such birth, furnish the registrar of the town wherein such births may have taken place certificate, signed by such phy- sician. midwife, or attendant, and stat ing, from the best information which can be obtained, the name of such child, if it have one : the place and date of its birth it's sex the name of it's father, the maiden name of its mother: the ages, color, residence and nationality of its parents the occupation of its father ; the number of the child, and the name and address of the medical attendant. - Section 103 Gen Statutes.
 The state board of health desires to make the registration of births as com plete as possible and expects that this law will be observed in every town ln the state.
 Any person violating any of the pro- visions of this act, shall be punished by fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars Gen Statutes.
 The numerous complaints of the regis trars in every part of the state respect ing the difficulty they have in getting the birth certificates from the doctors and midwives indicates widespread disregard of the law. The practice which many physicians have adopted of making their returns only once year, instead of monthly as the law requires, IS for many reasons very objectionable. There is more emphatic complaint against those physicians than others, because the registrars cannot get the re- turns in time to make their annual report to the state board of health when the | law requires it.
 That the law is disregarded to the extent of greatly impairing the com | pleteness of the registration Of births, | winch are legal records, is evident from | the low birth-rate in Connecticut. The average annual birth-rate for the last l ten years, 1878 to 1887, was only 23.l per 1000 of the living population. while in New Haven, where aanearer approxi- nation to completeness Is attalned, the | average rate for the fifteen years, 1S14- | 1888, has been 30.9. The average annual birth-rate for all Europe for the l thirty wears. from 1S56-1SS6, was 3S.7. 1 The subject is one of no trivial impor- tance The frequency with which the records are consulted. and certificates o1 record given to establish claims to titles and to pensions, to determine the settle ment of paupers, and to prove the rights of heirship and others rights sufficiently attests their value. The neglect of this duty by physicians and other whom tht law charges with it is a direct personal
 wrong inflicted upon the new born native Every child born in Connecticut ha: the right by law to have its birth record ed. with its parentage and other fact sufficient to identify it. The omission
 may be of serious consequence to its flu ture interest in the world
 The physicians and midwives are paiG
 for the duty, and have no right to neglect
 The state board of health as being
 charged with the supervision of thu
 registration of vital statistics would re
 spectfully appeal to all physicians, clergy
 men. midwives and others who are con cerned in making the registration ful and accurate, to comply with the require
 ments of the law and make their report
 monthly to the registrars, as the law demands.
 Registrar White says that as a rul,
 the local doctors are prompt in sending
 in their returns. A few of them, how
 ever, are negligent and in the past have made him considerable trouble by failin:
 to make their reports at the proper time The town pays twenty-five cents fO
 every birth certificate filed with the reg
 istrar and there is no excuse for doctors
 failing to file their returns.