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Newborn Safely Surrendered at Norwalk Hospital
A newborn boy has been
surrendered at a Norwalk hospital as part of the Safe Surrender
program, Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe announced this
morning.
The baby boy was safely surrendered yesterday at Coast Plaza
Doctor’s Hospital in Norwalk. An unidentified woman brought the baby
to the emergency room, saying the baby was born at home and that his
mother had asked the woman to surrender him to the hospital. This
incident is the third Safe Surrender in Los Angeles County in 2006.
The first two surrenders occurred on the same day last month when
two newborns were dropped off at hospitals in Long Beach and
Glendora.
The Safe Surrender Program in Los Angeles County was initiated by
Supervisor Knabe and approved unanimously by the Board of
Supervisors in June of 2002. It allows someone to surrender an
infant that is no more than three days old, as long as the infant
shows no signs of abuse.
The first year the program went into effect, no surrenders were
reported in Los Angeles County. That same year, 11 newborns were
discovered abandoned and deceased. By 2005, the number of Safe
Surrenders climbed to 8 cases and the number of abandoned deceased
infants dropped to 4. The newborn handed over at the Norwalk
hospital yesterday is the 39 th safely surrendered baby since the
program started.
“This case could have ended in tragedy, but because of the Safe
Surrender program, this baby boy has a long life ahead of him,” said
Supervisor Knabe. “I am happy this mother made the right choice for
her baby.”
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