Today LB 876, The Newborn Safe Haven Act, has advanced after the first round of debate with 38 votes!

Click here to see how your State Senator voted.

This life-affirming bill allows parents to surrender newborns, without intent to regain physical custody. It prohibits any prosecution for those complying with the Newborn Safe Haven Act.

Upon final passage and signature from Governor Pillen, this legislation will give parents an option to allow for their babies to be surrendered without fear of prosecution.

LB 876, the Newborn Safe Haven Act, authorizes Safe Haven baby boxes, safe, padded, and temperature-controlled units, to be installed at approved locations that are staffed 24/7 (including hospitals, fire stations, and police stations) where parents can voluntarily release custody of a newborn infant.

Nebraska’s current law allows for babies to be surrendered only at hospitals if the infant is less than one month old. This legislation expands the available drop-off locations and increases the number of days babies can be surrendered to 90 days. The bill has already received broad bipartisan support and has 33 cosponsors.

Similar programs across the country are saving hundreds of lives because they offer parents who may be facing a crisis a safe, accessible, and life-affirming option to surrender newborn babies where they can be adopted into loving homes. 

Safe Haven baby boxes decrease the number of babies who are abandoned or left in unsafe places with the hope they will be discovered. They are generally only used in rare cases, but every life this program could save is valuable and worth protecting in our state. A baby was recently saved through a Safe Haven baby box at an EMS Station in Indiana. 

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