Virginia expands safe haven law to save more newborns

Virginia legislators voted last week to extend the time frame during which a parent may surrender a newborn under the state’s safe haven law, and to launch a hotline for increasing awareness of the law’s existence.

According to the Virginia Mercury, lawmakers passed a total of four bills aimed at expanding the state’s safe haven laws. Three of the measures, introduced by Senators Frank Ruff and Mark Peake, extend the state’s 14-day limit for surrendering newborns to one month, and offer provisions for the state to install “newborn safety devices” like Safe Haven Baby Boxes. These boxes are temperature-controlled and alarmed, allowing a parent to surrender an infant without any face-to-face interaction. The fourth measure, introduced by Delegate Matt Farris, requires the Virginia Department of Social Services to establish a 24-hour hotline offering information about the safe haven laws, and to initiate a marketing campaign to alert Virginians of their availability.