Florida legislators are working to expand current Safe Haven policy in hopes of lowering the number of abortions in the state.
All states have a Safe Haven policy that allows for a mother to anonymously surrender her newborn up for adoption at participating hospitals and EMS and fire stations. Barring any signs of abuse or neglect, there will be no questions asked and no criminal charges.
The specifics of the policies vary by state. In Florida, the newborn can be surrendered up to seven days after birth.
The new legislation would expand the current Safe Haven laws, allowing for an infant up to 30 days old to be surrendered. The legislation received bipartisan support and is waiting to be signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
State Rep. Mike Beltran, a Republican and one of the bill’s sponsors, told Politico in a recent interview, “This was a way of doing something that was pro-life without making the left agitated. It was a good way to find common ground on the life issue when options were more limited.”
Politico reported that the legislation would “also authorize 911 responders to arrange an infant drop-off location in case the child’s guardian has no transportation to an agency’s site.”
Rep. Robin Bartleman, a Democrat, told Politico that although she is opposed to the state’s pro-life laws, she is supportive of the Safe Haven legislation.
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“Once the infant is born, once a child is there, we want to save that child,” Bartleman said. “And not have stories where they’re dumped in a garbage bag. It’s really terrible this year.”
As CatholicVote previously reported, on April 29, a newborn baby girl was found dead in a garbage bin outside a dorm on the University of Tampa’s campus.
Florida passed its first Safe Haven law in 2000. The law was passed “in response to cases of newborn abandonment at unsafe locations such as public restrooms or trash receptacles,” according to the Tampa Bay Times. “Since then, about 380 newborns have been surrendered at a safe haven in Florida. In the same period, 63 infants are known to have been unsafely abandoned. Of those, 31 survived and 32 died.”
LifeNews Note: McKenna Snow writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
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