In response to apparently rare but highly publicized instances in which infants have been
abandoned and sometimes left to die, every state, beginning with Texas in 1999, has enacted a provision intended
to provide a safe and confidential means of relinquishing an unwanted infant. These infant abandonment
measures—also referred to as “safe haven” or “safe surrender” provisions—typically follow the Texas model and
allow a parent or other specified party to relinquish an infant under certain circumstances without threat of prosecution for child abandonment. Variations include limits on an infant’s age (ranging from 72 hours to one year) and the places or personnel authorized to accept an infant (e.g., hospital emergency room staff or emergency services personnel [ESP], such as emergency medical technicians, firefighters or law enforcement officers). Some states explicitly guarantee parental anonymity; others require personnel accepting an infant to inquire into the
infant’s medical history