Custody of a baby boy born on May 25 has been turned over to state officials under Iowa’s “Safe Haven” law.
The law was passed in 2002, a year after the body of a newborn baby was found abandoned in a snowbank in the small Iowa town of Chelsea. The law gives parents who believe they cannot care for an infant the option of leaving their baby with a first responder in a hospital or fire station or calling 911 to relinquish custody.
State officials say in the past 22 years, 81 infants have been turned over for initial placement in foster care until an adoption can be arranged. Iowa’s Safe Haven Law originally gave parents in crisis up to 30 days after a baby’s birth to give up custody of the child, but that window was expanded to 90 days in 2022.