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Saved Infant Shows Importance of California's Safely Surrendered Baby Law

December 5, 2005
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Los Angeles, CA – The case last Saturday of a newborn baby turned over to doctors and nurses at a hospital emergency room in Newhall highlights the importance of California's Safely Surrendered Baby Law, which allows parents in dire situations to give up their babies confidentially without fear of prosecution.

The newborn Caucasian male was safely surrendered at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital on December 3. The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services will immediately begin the search for an adoptive home.

"This case just shows that parents in dire situations have an option that saves the life of their child," First 5 LA Executive Director Evelyn V. Martinez. "We need to spread the word that there is an alternative to abandonment. The more the community knows about it, the more lives will be saved."

Under the Safely Surrendered Baby Law, parents may surrender their newborn infants at any hospital in the state within the first 72 hours after birth without facing criminal prosecution, provided there are no signs of abuse or neglect.

Due to the leadership of County Supervisor Don Knabe in promoting the law, parents in Los Angeles County can also take their newborns to any designated Los Angeles County fire station. Under the Safely Surrendered Baby Law, parental information is confidential and infants will receive the medical care they need. The Department of Children and Family Services takes custody of these infants and moves them into adoptive homes as quickly as possible.

Anyone wanting more information about Los Angeles County Safely Surrendered Baby sites should visit the program's website in Los Angeles County at www.babysafela.org. To identify a Safely Surrendered Site in your area of Los Angeles County, call (877) BABY-SAFE, or (877) 725-5111.

Los Angeles County Safely Surrendered Baby sites will display a sign with the Safely Surrendered Baby logo, which shows a picture of an extended arm holding a baby.

The goal is to end all incidents of infant abandonment. This case marks the eighth instance where a child has been saved through the Safely Surrendered Baby Law. Three abandoned infants this year have been found deceased.

First 5 LA, a child advocacy non-profit organization that invests public funds to improve the lives of children pre-natal through age five in LA County. Created by voters and funded by state tobacco tax revenue, First 5 LA champions health, education and safety issues benefiting young children and families.