Iowa’s “Safe Haven” law has been used once again by a mother who does not want to raise her newborn child. Department of Human Services spokesman Roger Munns says the law, which went into effect five years ago, was sparked by a few cases that shocked the public and offers an alternative to the abandonment or even killing of an infant.
Now, with the so-called “Safe Haven” law, an unwanted newborn can be left at a healthcare facility, without the likelihood that the parent who does it will be charged with a crime. “We have an eighth child that’s been saved because of this law,” Munns says.
While previous cases have involved people who went into a hospital and brought a baby with them, Munns says details of this latest case were different. In this case, the mother had the child in the hospital and told the staff, right away, that she did not want to keep the child.
The D.H.S. asks the family to provide information on the medical history of the baby’s parents, so when the child is adopted the parents will have that information. The mother in this case did give that information, and asked the agency not to disclose the child’s gender when making the case public.