House Passes Bill to Protect Abandoned Newborns

HB 1217 (Beltran) authorizes hospitals, emergency medical service stations, and fire stations that are staffed 24 hours a day to install newborn safety devices or "baby boxes" to accept surrendered newborn infants. Florida's existing safe haven law allows parents who are unwilling or unable to care for their newborn children to anonymously surrender their infants and grants the parents immunity from criminal prosecution. HB 1217 increases the age that an infant may be surrendered from seven days to 30 days old.

The boxes would be installed through an exterior wall, with an access door on the inside of the building. An alarm notifies emergency personnel that someone has placed an infant inside the box. Similar boxes are currently being used in six other states.

Since the companion measure, SB 864 (Baxley), was only heard by its first of three committees of reference, this FCCB supported bill will likely not achieve final passage this year. However, it is worth noting that nothing in current law prevents baby boxes from being installed at safe haven facilities.