(a) Any party to the proceeding shall have the right to appeal from a judgment issued pursuant to this chapter within 30 days of the judgment pursuant to the Vermont rules of appellate procedure.

(b) If the court has issued a judgment allowing sterilization, the judgment shall not become final for 30 days. An appeal of such a judgment shall operate as a stay of the order during the pendency of the appeal or during the pendency of any further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Added 1981, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)