Infant Safe Haven Laws in the U.S.A.

State Statutes Series 2004

Author(s): National Adoption Information Clearinghouse ( U.S.A.)

Year Published: 2004

Current through November 2004

You may wish to review this introductory text to better understand the information contained in your State's statute. To see how particular U.S.A. States address this issue, visit the State Statutes Search.

State legislatures have felt the need to address infant abandonment and infanticide in response to a reported increase in the abandonment of infants.

Beginning in Texas in 1999, "Baby Moses laws" or infant safe haven legislation has been enacted as an incentive for mothers in crisis to safely relinquish their babies to a safe haven where the baby will be protected and provided with medical care until a permanent home can be found. Safe haven laws generally allow the parent, or an agent of the parent, to remain anonymous and to be shielded from prosecution for abandonment or neglect in exchange for safely surrendering the baby to a safe haven.

To date, approximately¹ 46² States have enacted safe haven legislation to provide a vehicle for the safe relinquishment of unwanted newborns.

Who May Leave a Baby at a Safe Haven

In most U.S.A. States with safe haven laws, a parent may surrender the baby to a safe haven. In four States (Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, and Tennessee),³ only the mother may relinquish the infant, while Idaho specifies that only a custodial parent may surrender the infant. Other States allow either parent of the baby, an agent of the parent (someone who has the parent's approval),⁴ or another person having custody of the child⁵ to take the baby to a safe haven. Five States⁶ do not specify the person who may relinquish an infant.

Safe Haven Providers

Safe haven providers include hospitals, emergency medical services, police stations, and fire stations. Generally, anyone on staff at these institutions can receive an infant, and the provider is authorized to provide any care and treatment the infant may require.

In many U.S.A. States, the provider is required to ask the parent for family and medical history information. In some States, the provider is required to attempt to give the parent or parents information about the legal effects of leaving the infant and information about referral services. In all cases, the relinquishing parent may not be compelled either to provide personal information or to accept the information offered.

The focus of these laws is protecting newborns, and in approximately 16 States,⁷  infants who are 72 hours old or younger may be relinquished to a designated safe haven. Many other States accept infants up to 1 month old,⁸ while North Dakota's safe havens will accept a child as old as 1 year.⁹

Immunity From Liability

Safe haven providers are given protection from liability for anything that might happen to the infant while in their care unless there is evidence of major negligence on the part of the safe haven.

Protections for the Parents

Anonymity for the parent or agent of the parent may be expressly guaranteed in statute,¹⁰ or the statute may state that the safe haven cannot compel the parent or agent of the parent to provide identifying information.¹¹ Some States provide an assurance of confidentiality for any information that is provided.¹²

In addition to the guarantee of anonymity, many States limit prosecution¹³ or provide that safe relinquishment of the infant is an affirmative defense¹⁴ in any prosecution¹⁵ of the parent or his/her agent for any crime against the child, such as abandonment, neglect, or child endangerment.

The privileges of anonymity and immunity will be forfeited in most U.S.A. States if there is evidence of abuse or neglect of the child.

Consequences of Relinquishment

In most U.S.A. States with safe haven laws, custody of the infant who has been relinquished will be transferred to the department that handles child protective or child welfare cases.

The department has responsibility for placing the child, usually in a pre-adoptive home, and for petitioning the court for termination of the birth parent's parental rights. Several States have procedures in place for a parent to reclaim the infant,¹⁶ usually within a specified time period and before any petition to terminate parental rights has been granted. A few States¹⁷ also have provisions for a nonrelinquishing father to petition for custody of the child.

To see how your State addresses this issue, visit the State Statutes Search.

To find information on all of the U.S.A. States and territories, view the complete printable PDF, U.S.A. Infant Safe Haven Laws: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 636 KB).

¹ The word approximately is used to stress the fact that the States frequently amend their laws, so this information is current only through November 2004. back

² Alaska, Hawaii, Nebraska, Vermont, the District of Columbia, and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have not yet addressed the issue of abandoned newborns in legislation. back

³ Maryland and Minnesota do allow the mother to approve another person to deliver the infant on her behalf. back

⁴ In 10 States: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming back

5 In California and Kansas back

⁶ Delaware, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, and New York back

⁷ Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin back

8 In 14 States: Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and West Virginia back

9 Other States specify varying age limits in their statutes: 5 days (New York); 7 days (Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Oklahoma); 14 days (Delaware, Iowa, Virginia, and Wyoming); 45 days (Indiana and Kansas); 60 days (South Dakota and Texas); and 90 days (New Mexico). back

¹⁰ In approximately 13 States: Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming back

¹¹ In 26 States: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wyoming. back

¹² In 12 States: Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee back

¹³ In approximately 7 States (Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota), the statutes state that a safe relinquishment is not considered a violation of the law. In 21 States, the relinquishing parent is provided immunity from prosecution: California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri (if the child is 5 days old or younger), Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Washington. back

¹⁴ In a State with an affirmative defense provision, a parent or agent of the parent can be charged and prosecuted, but the act of leaving the baby safely at a safe haven can be a defense to an accusation of abandonment, abuse, neglect, or child endangerment. back

¹⁵ In 17 States: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri (if the child is 6 days old or older, but less than 30 days old), New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming back

¹⁶ Approximately 16 States have provisions for the relinquishing parent to petition to reclaim the child: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Wyoming. back

¹⁷ In approximately 4 States: Louisiana, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah. back

This content is a product of the State Statutes Series prepared by the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse (NAIC). While every attempt has been made to be as complete as possible, additional information on these topics may be in other sections of a State's code as well as agency regulations, case law, and informal practices and procedures.