State promotes crisis line for unwanted babies

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - State officials are racing to let people know about a new law that allows parents to abandon their newborns in certain places without fear of prosecution.

"Until individuals become aware of the new act, it probably won't have any effect," Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus said yesterday in a news conference at a Lansing hospital.

This month, Michigan became the 29th state to enact a "safe delivery" law. The law allows parents to abandon infants who are 72 hours old or less at hospitals, police stations or fire stations. Before the law passed, abandoning an infant was a 10-year felony.

The state is spending $600,000 on the program to print and distribute 200,000 brochures. The brochures have been sent to police and health workers as well as schools.

The brochures, which say, "Please don't abandon your baby!" in bright yellow letters, explain the law and include the number of a toll-free, 24-hour crisis line.

The brochures tell parents that they may be asked to give family medical information but don't have to answer any questions when they leave a newborn. The infant will be placed for adoption, although the parent can petition to regain custody within 28 days.

The state Family Independence Agency is printing and distributing the brochures. FIA Director Doug Howard said parents who want to abandon their newborns are motivated by "denial, shame, fear, panic, and just a desire to get through the experience."

"The numbers may not be large, but even one is too many," Howard said.

Officials said Monday that they limited the law to infants 72 hours old or less for several reasons, including the health of the newborn and the ability to determine the baby's age and whether the baby had been harmed in any way. Immunity doesn't apply if the infant has been abused.

State Sen. Shirley Johnson, the bill's sponsor, said there are 57 babies a day abandoned in the United States.

"This is a good thing we've done, and hopefully we've not just saved one life, we've saved two," said Johnson (R-Royal Oak.) "There's a young woman involved here. Remember that."