State officials, medical community raise awareness for Connecticut's Safe Havens Acts for Newborns
Medical professionals say countless lives have been saved the law was passed in 2000.
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State officials and medical professionals raised awareness regarding Connecticut's Safe Havens Acts for Newborns Wednesday.
The law allows parents who do not believe they can care for their newborns to voluntarily relinquish custody of them to the staff of an emergency room and remain anonymous. Former state Rep. Pam Sawyer, who helped create the law, says anyone can bring an infant under 30 days old to any hospital in the state.
Sawyer says when the infant brought in, they and the person who brough them in both receive a matching wristband.
"So within 30 days after, there's a possibility, if they can be, reunified and that takes the DCF and it takes other work to put this reunification back together if it's appropriate," she says.
Medical professionals say countless lives have been saved the law was passed in 2000.
During Wednesday's press conference, Dr. Andrew Franco, an emergency medicine physician at St. Francis Hospital, said the job of the medical community is to protect the most vulnerable patients. He added that no matter where a newborn is dropped off, doctors and nurses are trained to take care of the baby and their mother without judgement.
Sawyer says it's important to spread the word about the act especially with those in need.
"One of the things we know is that people age out of the need to know what this law is. We created it so it would be so simple it could be shared on a school bus. Not necessarily for the person who knows what it is, but they may know someone who is in trouble," she says.
Sawyer says lawmakers plan to reach out to state department of education so the law is taught in high schools.
Every state has a Safe Have Act.
