Entitled the Infant Protection Act, the legislation would provide a safe way for a parent, or person in legal custody of a newborn, to take the child to a hospital. If the child is less than 15 days old and there are no signs that the child has been abused, the person who is leaving the child at the hospital would not be prosecuted for abandonment under the legislation. In addition, the parent will receive an informational brochure about the Infant Protection Act and an identification bracelet that must be presented in the event that they want to attempt to regain custody of the child. Although no official statistics are kept, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates as many as 105 newborns a third or whom died were abandoned nationwide in public places in 1998. That is an increase of more than 60 percent over the 1991 estimates.
Some estimates place the number of abandoned babies much higher.
Often the parents who abandon their children are teenagers or people in difficult domestic situations who either do not want their parents, boyfriend or husband to know about the child or feel that they are incapable of properly caring for an infant. This legislation would give them a safe place to bring their child without the threat of prosecution. Although we must continue to encourage moral and physical responsibility for one s actions, our first concern in these instances is the welfare and safety of the child. Fifteen states currently have laws designed to safeguard the lives of abandoned newborns, and according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Pennsylvania is one of approximately 23 states that are now considering similar measures. We want to provide troubled parents with a safe alternative to abandoning their child, so those children have the chance at a life that otherwise may have tragically ended.