by Donald Eng CTNewsJunkie
HARTFORD, CT — Supporters of the state’s Safe Haven Act for Newborns celebrated a major milestone Wednesday, as the 60th newborn was surrendered under the program earlier this week.
The group, which gathered at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford to commemorate the program’s 25th year, said the law had given dozens of children and mothers better lives.
“We’ve heard the heartbreaking stories of babies that have been abandoned in trash cans, and that is just heartbreaking,” said Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz. “And so in Connecticut we chose to lead with compassion and we chose to give people choices.”
Raising a child is a significant and life changing decision, and the law gives people the opportunity to navigate complex feelings, especially after having given birth, she said.
Susan Hamilton, interim Department of Children and Families commissioner, called surrendering a baby one of the most difficult choices a mother could male.
“To do the right thing for her baby, and to keep her baby safe,” she said. “It takes a village. It really does take a village to make this work.”
Under the law, a parent can surrender a baby, either at the hospital after giving birth or within 30 days. The parent and baby also both can receive identification bracelets, allowing them to be reunited within 30 days if the parent’s circumstances change.
Advocates also are pushing for the adoption of Senate Bill 156, which passed the Senate unanimously after receiving unanimous support in the Committee on Children. The bill would establish a task force to study the voluntary surrender of infants with an emphasis on how policies and procedures may perpetuate “racial, ethnic, health, economic and socioeconomic disparities among parents who engage in such voluntary surrender.”