CT State Rep Urges Public Education On Safe Havens Law

From The Office Of Rep. Laura Devlin: In honor of the second annual Safe Havens Awareness Day on April 4, State Rep. Laura Devlin (Fairfield & Trumbull) is urging public education on the importance of this lifesaving bill.

Since its passage in 2000, Connecticut’s Safe Havens law has saved 27 infants from abandonment and near certain death. The parents, too, of these infants have been saved from possible incarceration and a life overshadowed by the crime of neonaticide, committed in a moment of panic.

The Safe Havens law, enacted in 2000, helps prevent the crime of neonaticide by allowing anyone to drop off a newborn baby (within the first 30 days of life) at any hospital emergency room in Connecticut. The person dropping off the baby — whether it’s the infant’s mother, father, grandparents or a family friend — will be given a bracelet matching one put on the infant by hospital staff. The police will not be called and no one will be arrested, assuming the infant has not been abused. If the parents of the child change their minds within 30 days, they may petition to get the baby back.

Rep. Devlin mentioned that both Bridgeport Hospital and St. Vincent’s Hospital provide a safe haven for infants that cannot be cared for.

“This is about saving lives; we are all in a position to help distressed parents know about the law, which can prevent dire consequences, including arrest for infant abandonment. In this way, Safe Havens really saves two lives, especially as it preserves the anonymity of all parties concerned,” said Rep. Devlin.

Image Courtesy Of CT Safe Havens