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In a statement when the amended law was signed, the governor
said: "As a parent, abandoning a newborn baby is unimaginable. But,
sadly, some desperate parents do it. The story just this weekend of
a newborn baby found underneath a porch on Chicago's South Side
emphasizes just how important the Abandoned Newborn Infant
Protection Act is in Illinois. The law I signed today gives parents
more time to safely and legally give up their newborn babies -- no
questions asked -- as long as the baby is left in one of the many
‘safe havens' covered in the law."
According to reports, on June 24, children in a Chicago
neighborhood discovered a newborn baby girl under the porch of a
home on the 6400 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue. Authorities
took the newborn to University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital.
Senate Bill 2913, sponsored by state Sen. Donne E. Trotter,
D-Chicago, and state Rep. Elizabeth Coulson, R-Glenview, amends the
Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act of 2001, which designated
hospitals, medical emergency facilities and fire stations as places
where parents and guardians can leave newborns for adoption without
fear of investigation or criminal charges The governor signed
legislation in 2004 adding police stations, used by the state's more
than 1,100 law enforcement agencies, to the designated list of safe
havens. The law the governor Blagojevich signed June 26, which is
effective immediately, defines a newborn infant as a child who a
licensed physician reasonably believes is 7 days (instead of 72
hours) old or less at the time the child is abandoned.
"We greatly increase the chances that a newborn that otherwise
would have been abandoned will be saved by expanding the age range
for allowing a newborn to be relinquished," Trotter said.
"Increasing the age an infant can be legally relinquished will
help save more lives," Coulson said. "It's clear to me that many
more could be saved if frightened, distressed parents are aware of
the law and that an infant up to 7 days old qualifies."
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 The intent of the legislation is not to encourage abandonment,
but to promote the welfare of children whose parents and guardians
are unable to care for them and looking for answers. In other words,
the act gives desperate parents and guardians an option for the care
of their children.
Since 2001, 24 abandoned newborns were reported to the Illinois
Department of Children and Family Services.
While abandoning an infant can be done anonymously, staff at safe
havens may provide an information packet to parents and guardians to
help explain their rights and available resources, as well as the
Illinois Medical Information and Exchange Form to provide medical
information, which might prove useful for the baby later in life.
Newborns abandoned at fire or police stations are transported to the
nearest hospital as soon as possible. Should the parent or guardian
of a newborn return within 72 hours to the fire or police station
where they abandoned their child, staff must inform the parent of
the name and location of the hospital where their child was taken.
Those wishing to regain custody must petition the court within 60
days.
Illinois became the 15th state to pass a safe haven law that
saves infants and offers immunity for the parents and guardians who
abandon them. Forty-seven states now have similar laws.
Parents or guardians seeking information on adoption can call the
Illinois Adoption Registry line at 1 (877) 323-5299. In a crisis
situation, parents or guardians considering abandonment of a child
can call 1 (866) 694-BABY [1 (866) 694-2229] for information.
[News release from the governor's
office]
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