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Safe Surrender Protected by
Governor's Veto
 Los
Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe offered his thanks to Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger today for vetoing a bill that would have
placed the success of the statewide Safe Haven Law in jeopardy.
Under the proposed legislation, AB 1873 by Assemblyman Alberto
Torrico (D-Fremont), the Safe Haven window would have been extended
to 30 days. Currently, the program allows mothers of unwanted
newborns to surrender their babies at Safe Surrender sites, such as
Fire Stations and Hospitals, up to 72 hours after the child’s birth.
The person who surrenders the newborn is protected from prosecution,
No Shame, No Blame and No Names.
“Extending the window from 72 hours to 30 days could have created
serious medical issues” said Supervisor Knabe, who championed the
formation of Safe Surrender, the Los Angeles County version of the
Safe Haven Program, over five years ago.
“Access to quality medical care in the first hours of life is an
absolutely critical component that could have been placed in
jeopardy had this legislation gone through,” said Knabe. “Many
infants who are safely surrendered have received no prenatal care or
medical care at all – services that are critical for these newborns
to receive in the first hours after birth. That is a risk we simply
cannot afford and we appreciate the Governor’s veto.”
Los Angeles County has been at the forefront of implementing the
Safe Haven Law. Since its enactment in 2002, 45 babies have been
safely surrendered in Los Angeles County – almost one-third of all
the newborns saved in California.
Log on to
http://babysafela.org/ for more information.
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