Safe Haven Laws
Hardy 1
Adrew Hardy
Barbara Buchanan
ENG 112-003
7 December 2011
Safe Haven Laws The Safe Haven Laws for newborns is an alternative to leaving infants in unsafe places. Not all women who get pregnant are ready to raise a child and sometimes they see no options except to abandon the baby. Safe havens provide a new option; it allows a birth parent to leave a newborn infant (less than 72 hours old) with a medical worker in a hospital, a medical worker at a fire department or other emergency service organization, or peace officer at a law enforcement agency. If the infant is left with a person at one of these places, and has not been abused, the parent will face no legal consequences for making this choice. When a parent cannot care for an infant, leaving the baby at a safe haven may be the best choice for the child. The laws are fairly new and some people do not even know what they are, but if more people were educated about the laws it would be beneficial to many lives. The Safe Haven Laws are a good alternative for scared and unprepared parents that believe they have no other option. The birth parent (mother or father) is the only individual that can take a child to a safe haven and the laws only provide protection from persecution for the child’s parents. This is another way to protect the infant. Many people could try to give away a baby without the parents’ knowledge. The process for dropping an infant off at a safe haven is quite simple. The birth parents do not have to call before taking an infant in. A birth parent may take a newborn to a safe haven at any time until the child is 72 hours, or three days, old. This is the law in most
Hardy 2 states but some states do have different policies. The birth parent is not required to provide any information, including his or her name. However, it would be beneficial to the child if the birth parent chooses to provide basic health information. If the parent decides to give medical information they will be given a
Adrew Hardy
Barbara Buchanan
ENG 112-003
7 December 2011
Safe Haven Laws The Safe Haven Laws for newborns is an alternative to leaving infants in unsafe places. Not all women who get pregnant are ready to raise a child and sometimes they see no options except to abandon the baby. Safe havens provide a new option; it allows a birth parent to leave a newborn infant (less than 72 hours old) with a medical worker in a hospital, a medical worker at a fire department or other emergency service organization, or peace officer at a law enforcement agency. If the infant is left with a person at one of these places, and has not been abused, the parent will face no legal consequences for making this choice. When a parent cannot care for an infant, leaving the baby at a safe haven may be the best choice for the child. The laws are fairly new and some people do not even know what they are, but if more people were educated about the laws it would be beneficial to many lives. The Safe Haven Laws are a good alternative for scared and unprepared parents that believe they have no other option. The birth parent (mother or father) is the only individual that can take a child to a safe haven and the laws only provide protection from persecution for the child’s parents. This is another way to protect the infant. Many people could try to give away a baby without the parents’ knowledge. The process for dropping an infant off at a safe haven is quite simple. The birth parents do not have to call before taking an infant in. A birth parent may take a newborn to a safe haven at any time until the child is 72 hours, or three days, old. This is the law in most
Hardy 2 states but some states do have different policies. The birth parent is not required to provide any information, including his or her name. However, it would be beneficial to the child if the birth parent chooses to provide basic health information. If the parent decides to give medical information they will be given a
Cited: Child Welfare Information Gateway. “Infant Safe Haven Laws State Statutes Series”. Child fdfdf Welfare Information Gateway: Protecting Children Strengthening Families. 2010. Web. Fdfdf 2 April 2011. <http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/safehav fffff en.cfm>. Coodley, Lauren. “Nebraska Safe Haven Laws: A Feminist Historical Analysis”. Pediatric dsdsd Nursing 35.1 (2009):60-63. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 April 2011. Herman-Giddens, Marcia E, Jamie B. Smith, Manjoo Mittal, Mandie Carlson, and John D. Butts. Fffffffff“Newborns Killed or Left to Die by a Parent: A Population-Based.” JAMA 289.11(2006): gggggg1425-429. Web. 2 April 2011. Meadows, Bob, Bethany Lye, and Melody Simmons. “A Final Home for Forgotten Babies.” Fffffff People 65.12 (2006): 139-40. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 April 2011. Panter-Brick, Catherine and Malcolm T. Smith. Abandoned Children. Cambridge: Cambridge fffffUniversity Press, 2006. Print.