Virginia Code
Va. Code Ann. § 32.1-285.1 (2026)
Death of infants under eighteen months of age; autopsies required; definition of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
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An autopsy shall be performed in the case of any infant death which is suspected to be attributable to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
For the purposes of this section, "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome" (SIDS), a diagnosis of exclusion, means the sudden and unexpected death of an infant less than eighteen months of age whose death remains unexplained after a thorough postmortem examination which includes an autopsy.
1993, c. 965.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1
case, 2011–2011 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Futrell, 83 Va. Cir. 389 (Norfolk Cir. Ct. 2011).
Commonwealth v. Futrell, 83 Va. Cir. 389 (Norfolk Cir. Ct. 2011). “” Va. Code Ann. § 32.1-285.1 (1993). No reported Virginia cases have interpreted this statutory language, but the plain language of the statute is clear, the General Assembly intended SIDS to encompass an occasion when an infant’s cause *393 of death cannot be determined.”
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