What is known about the abandoned babies and their birth parents?
To date, no research has been conducted to identify the population of parents who abandon their babies. The only information available is based on the few cases when authorities identify the parent, but such anecdotal data is not sufficient to draw definitive conclusions. Response: As of April 2001, 30 states have passed legal abandonment legislation, and many other state legislatures are currently considering safe havens bills. The intent is to save lives by helping parents in crisis safely relinquish a healthy infant to a third party. Legislation varies from state to state, but all laws or proposals diminish or remove the threat of criminal prosecution against parents who relinquish unharmed infants to safe havens identified by the law. What happens once a baby is turned over to the appropriate authorities? Although this varies slightly from state to state, typically, state child welfare agencies take custody of the infant and arrange for foster care and eventual adoption. Do Safe Ha
