Safe Surrender Laws (Legal Infant Abandonment)? Your thoughts?

Question

I heard about this law when it was passed & I just saw TV commercial for it: "no shame, no blame, no names". Here is the link to the web site:

http://www.safesurrendersite.com/

I understand the basic idea - to prevent the deaths of abandoned children by providing a safe place to leave them without fear of legal reprocussion; but it raises a few issues for me:

1.) Many of the babies "surrendered" recieve no prenatal care, are delivered in secret and their mothers (and fathers) recieve no counseling of any kind.

2.) These children have almost ZERO chance to resolve issues concerning their health, history or circumstances of their births.

3.) The possibility that these laws could encourage more women to abandon infants by providing immunity from prosecution and responsibility.

4.) The possibility of encouraging underhanded activities such as black marketing of babies by unscrupulous officials (no records makes for easy "product") and babies being left by non-parents.

Answer 1

We have the safe surrender law in CA, last month a baby was left at a fire station. Although in theory, it sounds good, it seems it would make it impossible to ever find the mother. Your points are excellent, and it doesn't seem the law works for everyone, since a 24 to 30 week fetus was found in a dumpster in a nearby town. Just because the law is there, doesn't mean everyone will use it. Scared young girls are not always thinking straight.

Again, excellent points.

Answer 2

There is considerable evidence that these laws DO NOT WORK.  The girls these laws are aimed at either do not know about them, or are so deep in denial about their pregnancies that they literally do not recognize that that "thing " that came out of them is human, not trash to be gotten rid of.

There is NO drop in the rate of "dumpster babies" in state where these laws are in effect, but a high rate of drop off babies, who will never have any chance of knowing essential things like their personal and medical histories.

Answer 3

I thought hard on this one. No I don't really care for the law Yes it might save some poor child but then you have other problems like this child will never have a chance to know anything about their back ground.

Also boy would that have been the prefect answer to my son's ex to do instead of hidding her pregancy and giving the baby away with out his consent. She could have went to another state and dump the child and we would still be looking for his child . So any mother that thinks this would be good has to think that it would be so hard on a child to know that he or she was dump like trash. But what is the answer.

Answer 4

I do think the laws were created with the best of intentions.  I also realize that it hasn't been as big of a deterrent as the authors of the law hoped.

But if it saves one child, isn't it worth it?

Answer 5

I wish someone would walk up to me with a baby and say ..here take it!

Answer 6

I think everyone agrees that Safe Surrender is better than dumping a newborn in a dumpster.  

However, the thing that bothers me about Safe Surrender is there is absolutely no guarantee that the parents of the surrendered child are the people handing over the baby.  I think there is GREAT potential for this system to be abused and misused.  I also believe that Safe Surrender completely ignores the rights of the child.

Answer 7

1.

2.

3.  To all 3 of these i say ... is it not better than the baby dieing?  Better to be alive than that poor angels mother to have done something in desperation.  

Wow i just looked at the site... thank you so much for showing this  Thank goodness this has finally happened

Answer 8

This law will save some infants, thank God.  Why don't we educate our teens on what to do if they are pregnant, how to give a baby up for adoption, how to avoid scandals, and most of all BIRTH CONTROL before it becomes a pregnancy at all!  I inquired at a school that had 36 graduating students, of which 14 were pregnant (only 3 girls weren't), what s*x education they had.  I was told none.  I asked if there had been any requests through the nurse for prenatal care.  I was told none.  I asked if I could write a letter to the school counselor stating I was wanting to adopt locally, and the fact that I had a legal homestudy already done.  I was told that would not be possible.  What is even more pathetic is that a female teacher who found a girl crying and became her friend, talked to her, and invited her to her house off campus was fired for having a talk involving an STD that the girl had.  The girl had asked the teacher, and now none of the girls will ask a teacher, because the ones who would help generally have a good relationship with students.  I wonder if they told the students there was help to get medical expenses paid, of WIC, or other ways to stay in school.  We need to educate our young on the consequences.  Look at the number of 14-16 year olds here that are asking questions how to get pregnant!

Answer 9

I agree with the law, but also agree that it is ineffectual in helping the very situations it was designed for.  I can see the potential for abuse of the law - but if the possibility is out there that this saves a life? I WANT it to work - I WANT all of the people who dump or dispose of their babies to take advantage of this law - but I don't think it does anything to address the mental state - the "break" if you will, that leads someone to do this.  The people who are having some sort of mental health crisis, that would lead them to the point of throwing their baby away - are not going to take advantage of this law.

My response to this is colored by personal experience, and I can't separate the two. In 1993, in college, a girl on my floor in my dorm gave birth to a baby in her room, and dumped it down the trash shoot.  My roommate and I were in a study carrel at about 2 am, when a state trooper came in and escorted us back to our room. As we passed the trash room on our way to the stairs, we saw a trooper leaning over a book bag and say "Oh, my God, I found it." We didn't know, until the next morning what the "it" was.

This girl, who we had all kind of looked at thinking "Hmmm, is she pregnant?" (she looked like maybe 4 months just prior to giving birth) had denied her pregnancy to everyone. She gave birth in her room alone, and when her roommate came back, denied that there was blood on her bed and the floor. She went to campus doctor that night, complaining of stomach pains, and denied to the doctor she had given birth. When the cops came, she kept denying it. She was prosecuted, and in court - denied it. She eventually was admitted to a mental hospital.

This law would not have saved this baby.

Answer 10

In safe surrender- the babies are taken to a hospital and checked out medically - and the women do have a chance of receiving counseling if they choose too. For number 2-  they have more of a chance then if the mom had left them to die.  I am adopted and have 2 adopted children- and we may not have all our health history or all the circumstances of our births=- however we are alive and that is MUCH better than being aborted or abandoned.  If your mom had decided that she could not have raised you, would you wanted your mom to abort, abandon or take you to a safe haven?

Answer 11

1. Babies that are surrendered are taken to the hospital and checked out after they are surrendered to make sure there is no abuse.  Mothers and fathers who choose to surrender their babies have the freedom to have counciling if they think it is neccessary, maybe not provided for free by the state, but on their own account.  I do not think that the state should be liable for counciling fees.

2.  There are many adoptions (in the US and international) where the names of the parents or the parents location are not disclosed.

3.  I don't think it encourages woman to abandon babies, but I'd rather it encourage woman to abandon their babies safely than find babies in dumpsters or buried in their backyards.

4.  I've never thought of this before, but I don't think this would happen.  But, there are those who no matter how much you are trying to do good, will always **** all over it.  But it doesn't mean that it still isn't a good law.

Answer 12

If one needs to surrender an infant the odds are in the babies better interest if the Mother chooses wisely as to where to surrender and walk away.  The alternative is she stays in a bad situation along with the baby, so if this child must be surrendered it is the better way to go and let fate take its course with the babies life. In adoption instances there are no guarantees for that child that the life they are given will be a bed of roses either.  But all one can do is be prudent in choosing the surrender mode and hope for the best really.

Answer 13

Personally as an adoptive parent and a foster parent, I hate it.  The reality is, even after the safe haven laws went into effect, infants were still abandoned in dumpsters etc.  Many of these children are being abandoned by parents that are too mentally ill or too young and scared to even understand the new laws.

The individuals that care about the infant enough to use the new law, cared about the infant enough to legally give up the child WITH information.

No, lets look at the long term problem for these children.  They will NEVER have an opportunity to understand their adoption.  They will never have a family medical history to help diagnose future genetic issues...not only for themselves, but for their children.

Answer 14

Hey mamakate

   well this is the first one of your questions I'm attempting to answer .....you do tend to stir the pot...The first problem i see with the safe surrender laws is the lack of accountability what would happen if a mother/father did not want there baby and the other one did, but the mother/father takes the baby to one of these "Safe Surrender Points " and drops it without the others consent and with no names / no shame / no blame what then does the mother/father that wanted the child to do ?As far as the lack of information about history and health that could happen to lots of folks look at how adoptive family's change the child's birth certificate to reflect what they want the also have no info,look at circumstances like a single mother has a baby and the family changes the family tree when she does find someone and adds that person to the family like the child belongs to them.....these laws seem to be put it affect by unscrupulous politicians that saw a quick easy way to generate revenue for the state.

Answer 15

I understand the law, so babies are not killed or dumped at birth to die.  I think it is a law to try to save life, but everytime I hear about a baby taken to a safe place I always hear that they are now "looking for it's mother".   If the mother dropped off the baby so there would be "no shame, no blame, no names" then why do they report it on the news "now they are looking for the mother, if anyone knows this child".  Come on now.

Answer 16

Praise the lord for this.  A few weeks ago in my area an infant boy was found in the trash, luckily he was fine and is now in foster care.  Why she couldn’t just drop him off at a fire station, or even  leave him on a front porch. To place him in the rubbish bin and it was clear she had tried to hide him so that he would not be found.  

Now what I think might be unfair is if the father does not know, the mother hid her pregnancy even from him. But this is one of those things your pretty much out of luck unless the mother tells who the father is. Which in most cases i believe  they have no questions. By that i should be able to work into a safe drop off, maybe say  "I cant care for my baby." and hand the child off and simple walk out.

The law is trying to prevent woman  from just leaving their baby somewhere that they will possible and likely die. Unless they are lucky enough to be found like the baby i mentioned above.

Answer 17

this is an amazing program that prevents Innocent infants from suffering from their sickening "parents" i think you are kinda wrong for questioning it  they take care of everything so basically shut up

Answer 18

I see what you are saying

BUT

The babies are well taken care of, most adopted children don't know anything about birth or health history.

Also, this keeps us from finding dead babies.

I think it is a great law and 100% support it.

I see your point to #4 but if someone stole my baby I would come forward to the police.

I think this law works most of the time and its a gread idea.

Answer 19

As a few posters here seem to admit (but don't realize?)...  these laws don't stop baby dumping.  The people that throw babies out are not taking advantage of this law.  The people that are taking advantage of this law would either care for their children or relinquish in a more responsible way.  This law simply denies, permanently, the rights of the child so relinquished.  The law has immoral consequences, whether or not it has good intentions (which pave the road to where...  again?).

Answer 20

My thoughts on this; hmmm.  The laws seem good in principal but they don't work.   These laws have NOT reduced the numbers of dead and abandoned infants, they are inneffective in preventing the very thing they are purported to prevent.

Legalized baby dumps are not utilized by the kind of people who dump and kill their babes and are merely a means of procuring more infants for the adoption industry, with no questions asked.   They are not saving lives, no.

ETA:   I'd be interested to know if the baby twist of fate mentioned was dumped in a State with Safe Haven laws and what makes someone think that a woman who is going to dump a baby is going to seek out a safe haven anyways.

Answer 21

I think it's a good law, it does have down sides like everything, but really I think peventing finding babies in dumpsters and fast food restaurant bathrooms make it worth it.

Answer 22

Wouldn't it be great if we lived in a perfect world?  I love my adopted children with all my heart and feel honored to be their daddy however because I love them so much it would be my first choice to have them be loved and cared for by their bio-family.  Unfortunately we don't live in a perfect world and we have to make choices that often isn't the "best" choice but hopefully better than all the other alternatives.  My youngest son was beat by his bio-dad till he cracked his skull and his face was unrecognizable when he was 3 years old.  Sure his bio-dad is in prison and is being held accountable for his crimes but my son had to be beat to an inch of his life first before he found a safe place to live.  Only then after languishing in foster care for another 3 years were was he able to find a forever home.  On the other hand my first child we adopted was abandoned by his bio-mom at birth.  Within 8 months the state was easily able to terminate parental rights and start looking for him a forever home.  Still the state had do investigate possible kinship adoptions and home studies before putting him up for adoption. There needs to also be some clarification.  A baby found on the door steps of a fire station is not just given away by the state for adoption immediately.   There is a tremendous amount of investigations, diligence, and media coverage that goes along with this type of abandonment.  As a result it would be difficult for concern #4 to ever occur.  The bottom line is a parent who is to a point of abandonment is already under tremendous stress and most likely if they choose to not abandoned their child the children are at great risk of harm or neglect.  Since the perfect world option is a choice I choose the better of two evils to allow a parent to safely abondon their child than to make the children suffer before they can recieve help.

Answer 23

1.  They are abandoning the baby after the pregnancy.  Prenatal care is no longer an option.  

2. Absolutely, you are correct.  However, if the child was abandoned in a dumpster, they also have zero chance to resolve these issues.

3. So far as I have seen, these laws have not reduced the number of dangerously abandoned babies or murdered newborns. The number of these babies in these situations has NOT gone down in my region.  So, who are these folks that are abandoning at the Safe Havens? Are they a different class of folk?

4.  Illegal adoption is actually easier to do with a baby born in the hospital. It is MUCH harder to obtain documentation for a baby born outside of a hospital than to falsify it within the hospital. Case in point. Mother has baby she doesn't want.  A nurse sends a false birth certificate into the state naming herself as the mother and takes the baby home.  She may tell coworkers that it is a foster baby or child of a relative, quits her job not long after and takes a new job.  Nobody at the new workplace will know anything about it.  If she meets up with old coworkers, just tells them that she since adopted the baby.    A woman who has a child out of the hospital or birth center has a much harder time obtaining a birth certificate as evidenced by home birthing moms all over the country.  

I understand your issues. I have other issues with these laws, but I also feel that somehow they are still not addressing the mothers of those the law is intended to protect: namely the ones who continue to dump babies in dumpsters or kills the newborn.

Answer 24

As Phil points out, these laws aren't necessarily saving lives.  Newborns continue to be dumped in toilets or in the garbage.  The state of mind a woman or girl would have to be in to dump a newborn is not, in general, the state of mind that calmly thinks Hm, what would be best for this baby?  I'd better take it to the fire station.    

At least one woman has admitted to surrendering her baby this way because it was more convenient for her than doing adoption the right way.  

Also, it seems to me anyone can abandon the infant.  Anyone!  In some states there are "baby hatches" to place the newborn in and split.  How do we know the mother ditched the baby and not an angry boyfriend, an ashamed relative, a kidnapper who changed his/her mind?  We don't!  And it's pretty obvious that, as long as the supply of adoptable infants doesn't dry up, we don't care.

Answer 25

I also agree that this is a great law. It is saving babies! These babies will go to homes where they will be loved and wanted. How can that be bad?