TALLAHASSEE, Florida (LifeSiteNews) — Florida appears poised to expand its existing pro-life legislation allowing women to safely and legally surrender their newborns if they cannot care for them. The move to expand the state’s legislation comes as Florida’s law banning abortion for unborn babies with a detectable heartbeat took effect earlier this month.
Lawmakers in the Sunshine State approved the bill dealing with Florida’s “safe haven” law during the 2024 legislative session. The bill, which cleared both the House and the Senate unanimously, would widen the legal window in which a mother can lawfully surrender her newborn from seven to 30 days, according to Politico. It would also allow emergency responders to coordinate with a mother to arrange a convenient drop-off location for the child in case the mother lacks adequate transportation.
READ: Baby girl abandoned in Florida safe haven box adopted by firefighter who rescued her
“I think, basically, people were just wanting to give moms more time. And, other states have 30 days, and it’s a positive thing, really,” Nick Silverio, the CEO of A Safe Haven for Newborns, told Fox 13 News. “[The mother] might be going through postpartum. She might be going through a medical condition that she had delivering the baby… this just gives her more time.”
Even Democrats who fought the state’s explicit pro-life laws restricting abortion gave their support for the bill.
While the legislation to expand Florida’s safe haven law has not yet been sent to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk for a signature, state Rep. Mike Beltran, the measure’s sponsor, suggested a veto would be unlikely, Politico reported.
And as Silverio with A Safe Haven for Newborns indicated in his remarks to Fox 13 News, Florida is far from alone in its legislation permitting the surrender of newborns under specific circumstances.
Safe haven laws allowing mothers in crisis situations to surrender their children safely, legally, and without judgment, exist in all 50 states. The laws vary from state to state in their details, but all broadly require that newborns be dropped off within a certain short period after birth as long as there are no signs of abuse.
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There are already many success stories nationwide about mothers safely surrendering their newborns under the provisions of the safe haven laws.
Last summer, a West Ocala, Florida firefighter and his wife adopted a baby girl who had been surrendered in the fire department’s first “Safe Haven Baby Box,” a receptacle equipped with heating, cooling, and a silent alarm to ensure that the baby can be dropped off anonymously and then immediately tended to. The West Ocala couple who adopted the little girl, whom they called Zoey, had been unable to have a child of their own for almost a decade.
“I picked her up and held her,” the little girl’s adoptive father later told Good Morning America. “We locked eyes, and that was it. I’ve loved her ever since that moment.”
READ: Baby girl abandoned in Florida safe haven box adopted by firefighter who rescued her
Stories like that of the firefighter and his wife are likely to increase amid Florida’s tougher laws protecting unborn babies from abortion.
Earlier this month, Florida’s law banning abortion after six weeks’ gestation finally took effect following the state Supreme Court’s finding in a separate case that the Florida Constitution did not protect abortion. The decision, which dealt with Florida’s less ambitious 15-week ban, allowed both the 15-week ban and the heartbeat law to take effect.
The pro-life measures are expected to save thousands of lives.
In addition to safe haven laws in every state, pro-life pregnancy resource centers outnumber abortion facilities nationwide. Pro-life advocates across the country provide ample resources and support to help mothers choose life for their babies, whether they opt to raise their children themselves or offer them for adoption.