Victory for Safe Haven Laws!
A story out of Racine, Wisconsin was brought to my attention this week. It gives our little organization tremendous hope for the future of our cause. A newborn infant- not even a day old- was dropped off at a fire station on February 18th.
It seems clear that the parent or parents were familiar with the Safe Haven laws in Wisconsin which allow them to relinquish custody of an infant under 3 days old to an employee of a fire station, law enforcement agency, hospital, or any other medical service provider. As an incentive to this method over simply abandoning a child, the parent(s) and anyone who assists them have the right to remain anonymous. They are further immune from any criminal liability for an act like this made in good faith. Those who DO choose to abandon their infants instead of finding them a Safe Haven- especially when they put them in unsafe conditions- CAN be criminally charged.
This is a huge checkmark in the “WIN” column for Safe Haven laws. There is still, however, a long road ahead in getting the information out to every citizen.
For full article, please click here.
Expanded Infant Protection in Illinois
This week also saw a boost for Safe Haven laws in regards to state legislation. The Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act in Illinois will now be inflated to include “full-time campus police stations and Illinois State Police district headquarters”. The expansion was approved unanimously 10-0 by the House Human Services Committee.
Some may question the stipulation that only full-time campus locations will now be Safe Havens, but this is simply for the infants’ safety. Under the law the children must be left with an employee of the drop-off sites. This is to ensure that the babies are never left unsupervised which could be a danger to them. Obviously, employee assistance is not always possible at non-full-time localities.
For full article, please click here.
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