The miscarriage of a child can be a traumatic experience for any parent, but to be denied the right to bury the child will compound this pain.
The Gauteng High Court had earlier declared some provisions in the Births and Deaths Registration Act as unconstitutional; and ruled that in the case of a pregnancy lost in other ways except medical intervention, parents should have the choice to bury the foetus. Before this ruling, a foetus that hadn't reached 26 weeks was discarded as medical waste.
Sonja Smith - Voice of the Unborn Baby According to Smith, the interpretation of the act is that after 26 weeks, parents must bury or cremate a stillborn baby. Before 26 weeks, however, it's classified as a miscarriage, which means that the foetus must be incinerated as medical waste.Sonja Smith - Voice of the Unborn Baby