×

Safe Delivery of Newborns Day is April 20

ESCANABA — To end the tragedy of unwanted newborns being hidden and left to die in dumpsters and elsewhere, Michigan lawmakers passed a law in 2000 to make it legal for a parent to surrender their infant in a safe and anonymous ­manner.

Parents with an unexpected pregnancy who believe they are unable to raise their newborn child have options to safely, legally and anonymously leave their infant no more than 72 hours old in safe places. Parents can surrender their infant to an emergency service provider. An emergency service provider is a uniformed or otherwise identified employee or contractor of a fire department, hospital or police station that is inside the building and on duty, a paramedic or emergency medical technician who responds to a 911 call.

The law allows a parent to surrender an infant without breaking any laws or giving any identifying information. Although the parent remains anonymous, he or she is encouraged to provide family and medical background that could be useful to the child in the future. After the child is placed in the temporary protective custody of the emergency service provider, the infant is examined at a hospital and if no signs of abuse or neglect are found, the infant is released to the temporary protective custody of an adoption agency for placement with an approved prospective adoptive family.

Since 2010, the Safe Delivery of Newborns Law has helped save 82 infants from being abandoned in unsafe locations.

Parents, professionals and the public can visit www.michigan.gov/safedelivery for more information or call the toll-free 24 hour hotline at 866-733-7733.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today