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Third Baby Given Up To Safe Surrender Program This Year
Photo by PlayPennies via Flickr
LA County City Supervisor Don Knabe announced today that a baby was handed over to authorities by a woman who gave birth at a Torrance hospital on May 31, marking the third safe surrender of 2011. All three took place within the last two weeks of May. The first happened on May 20 at a hospital in West Covina, and the second at a fire station in Winnetka.
The Safe Surrender program was launched in LA ten years ago, in an effort to stem the tide of babies being left for dead or otherwise abused or neglected by parents who couldn't care for them. Since then, 86 infants have been placed in protective custody after being handed over safely. In order to be taken with no questions asked, babies must show no signs of having been abused.
In a statement, Knabe said he was happy that the program was working, even if the numbers are low.
"While these situations could end in disaster, instead we are given hope that an infant will have a healthy and happy life," he said. "I am confident that as word continues to spread about Safe Surrender, mothers in desperate situations will see that secure and anonymous options are available for them and their babies.”
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