|
Friends of the Fourth
District:
Many times over the last several years, I have had the chance to
share with you the wonderful successes 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 trash can or by other tragic means.
The local Safe Surrender Program is based on the six-year-old
Statewide Safe Haven Law and it allows unwanted newborns to be
handed over within 72 hours of birth. In the six years since we
began the program, the lives of 54 newborns have been saved across
our County.
Unfortunately, the success of Safe Surrender is again threatened –
the second time in only two years. As I write, lawmakers in the
California State Assembly are debating a Bill that would do far more
harm than good to Safe Surrender. Assembly Bill 81 (AB 81) would
change the time to anonymously surrender a newborn from 72 hours to
30 days.
It is the exact same Bill, authored by the exact same Legislator,
which was successfully defeated less than one year ago. Key to that
defeat was a veto by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in October 2006.
When he issued his veto, the Governor expressed a concern that still
rings true with the current version of this legislation: extending
the Safe Surrender time period is a dangerous move. Research shows
newborns are at the greatest homicide risk during the first day of
life. The Emergency Pediatric Care Journal reported that 83 percent
of all newborn deaths occur shortly after birth. There is absolutely
no scientific evidence that extending the surrender window will
provide benefits to newborns.
An extension from 72 hours to 30 days could also lead to serious
medical issues for these newborns. Access to quality medical care in
the first hours of life is an absolutely critical component of the
Safe Surrender Program and it will be placed in jeopardy if this new
version of the same old legislation passes. That is a risk we simply
cannot afford.
Two of our own local newspapers, The Daily Breeze and The Long Beach
Press Telegram, agree with me that AB 81 is a bad Bill. Both
recently advocated for its defeat in editorials, saying:
“Extending the time period for a parent who is ill-equipped to care
for the child could put the child at grave risk. The 72-hour rule
encourages the mother to turn over an unwanted child as quickly as
possible.”
“The current policy is helping young mothers in crisis and averting
tragedies. State lawmakers should concentrate on fixing policies
that are broken rather than tinkering with those that work.”
AB 81 is opposed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors,
Sheriff Lee Baca, District Attorney Steve Cooley, the Interagency
Council of Child Abuse and Neglect, the Children’s Planning Council,
the First 5 Los Angeles Commission, the California State Association
of Counties and the California Welfare Directors Association because
we all agree that extending the 72 hours to 30 days is a bad move.
So how can you help? Join me in my fight against Assembly Bill 81.
Contact your legislators and tell them to oppose it. Tell them there
are ways to improve Safe Surrender 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 lawmakers it is worth
fighting for – we need look no further than the 54 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
### |
