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Friends of the Fourth
District:
Last month I had the opportunity to tell you about the success of
the Los Angeles County Safe Surrender Program, which allows mothers
a way to hand over an unwanted newborn confidentially, rather than
abandoning that baby in a trashcan or by other tragic means.
The local Safe Surrender Program is based on the five-year-old
statewide Safe Haven Law and it makes it very clear that a newborn
must be surrendered within 72 hours of birth. In the five years
since we began the program, 45 precious lives have been saved by
Safe Surrender – 45 newborns that could have ended up as a tragic
statistic.
Despite the incredible success of Safe Surrender, there is a bill
currently before Legislators in Sacramento that, if passed, could
revise the program in a way that would do far more harm than good.
Assembly Bill 1873 would change the time to anonymously surrender a
newborn from 72 hours to 30 days. While A.B. 1873 is
well-intentioned, the success of the Safe Haven Law is because of
the way it is currently written. Changing the 72-hour window could
lead to abuses of the confidentiality that is at the heart of the
program.
Confidentiality is important to Safe Surrender because we want women
that may be in trouble to know they have a way to surrender a
healthy newborn without any questions being asked by law
enforcement. The biggest problem with the 30 day extension proposed
in A.B. 1873 is the possibility of an unintended outcome – providing
parents who abuse their newborns a way to surrender the baby and
hide behind the veil of immunity that comes with Safe Surrender. If
a mother waits for 30 days, we would have no way to determine if
that baby suffered any harm or neglect during that time. If someone
wants to turn over a newborn beyond the 72 hour deadline, there are
existing legal means to do so by handing over a child to the
adoption process. But allowing newborns to be surrendered
anonymously for 30 days after birth could defeat the original intent
of the law, which is to protect newborns from mortal danger.
This bill is opposed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors,
the District Attorney's Office and California Welfare Directors
Association because we all agree that there are ways to strengthen
the success of the program without extending the 72 hours to 30
days.
So how can you help? In August, A.B. 1873 will head to the Senate
floor in Sacramento for a full vote. Before that happens, call your
State Senator and tell them to oppose it. Tell them that there are
ways to improve the Safe Haven Law by providing funding for outreach
and education programs rather than trying to cast a wider net by
moving the 72 hours up to 30 days. Tell your legislators it worth
fighting for – we need look no further than the 45 children that are
alive today in Los Angeles County for proof that this program is
working.
DON KNABE
Supervisor, Fourth District
County of Los Angeles
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