Kansas House passes bill allowing for anonymous surrender of newborns in safety devices

The Kansas House Wednesday passed the Newborn Infant Protection Act, which would allow parents to anonymously surrender newborn children at police stations, sheriff’s offices, law enforcement centers, fire stations, city or county health departments and medical care facilities.

Relinquishing parents will deposit the infants to an employee at the facility or in newborn safety devices, which are equipped with temperature control, an automatic lock and an alarm system that is triggered once the infant is placed in the device.

Relinquishing parents would also be immune from civil or criminal liability if the newborn is 60 days old or younger, did not suffer great bodily harm or abuse and if the infant was delivered safely.

The bill, which passed 94-30, would also require employees in the facility to report if the infant is of or eligible for membership in a federally recognized Indian tribe.

Rep. Timothy Johnson, a Bonner Springs Republican, said the bill is another “tool in the toolbox” for public safety officers — including EMS and firefighters — that allows for the safe submission of an infant under 60 days old.

“The purpose of this bill is to protect newborn children from injury and death caused by abandonment,” he said. “It provides safe and secure alternatives.”

Rep. Eric Smith, a Burlington Republican who previously worked in law enforcement, expressed support for the bill because it gives the relinquishing parent “some level of confidence that they’re doing the right thing.”

“From a law enforcement point of view, our priority here is the health and well-being of that child,” Smith said. “Not the criminality of what has happened with the child.”

Any non-relinquishing parent who wants to establish parental rights of a surrendered child must do so within 30 days and take a paternity or maternity test. A notice will be published by the Kansas Department for Children and Families stating the sex of the infant and the location and date the child was surrendered.

At a hearing Tuesday, Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat, expressed opposition to the 30-day time limit to reclaim a surrendered child. He said he was concerned the non-relinquishing parent could be unaware their child was surrendered — especially if they are over state lines — and therefore could lose their children if they do not file the necessary paperwork in time.

“That baby will never know who its parents were because we facilitated that anonymous drop-off of children in boxes on the side of fire stations,” he said.

Rep. Emil Bergquist, a Park City Republican, who said he has four grandchildren who were left at orphanages as infants, called the bill a “pivot point of a desperate mother” who had to let go of her child,

“This is just one golden moment opportunity for the very best next chance for that baby,” he said. “The decisions are sometimes made without great joy, but with great angst. This safe haven moment in time is a wonderful gift.”

Carmichael also expressed concern that a child could be kidnapped or taken over state lines and deposited in Kansas.

“Anonymous drop-off boxes protect kidnappers, deny parental rights to the other parents, and I believe it actually endangers children,” he said.