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Lawmakers Want To Extend Time In Safe Haven Law

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Apr 17, 2007 12:29 pm US/Eastern

Lawmakers Want To Extend Time In Safe Haven Law

Law Allows Parents To Leave Babies At Safe Locations Without Fear of Prosecution

But Only Up To 3 Days After Birth

Amendment Extends Time To 7 Days After Birth
TALLAHASSEE (AP) ― A desperate parent could leave a newborn baby at a hospital or fire station with no questions asked for up to a week after the child's birth under an amendment added to legislation in the House.

Florida has allowed people to leave an abandoned newborn at such safe places without fear of prosecution for neglect or abandonment since 2000 under the Safe Haven Law but the law only provides protection within three days of birth.

An amendment added to an adoption bill would extend that safe haven period to seven days. The amendment was added without objection to a wide-ranging measure dealing with requirements for adopting children. The bill (HB 599) was approved unanimously Tuesday by the House Healthcare Council.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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