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The Tennessee Safe Haven law allows mothers of newborns to surrender unharmed babies to designated facilities within two weeks of birth without fear of being prosecuted.
The table below provides an overview of Safe Haven laws by state, including the maximum age of the infant allowed for surrender and the designated surrender locations. Among the states with notable Safe Haven laws is South Dakota, which allows infants to be surrendered up to 59 days old.
14 lip 2022 · What is Tennessee's Safe Haven Law? The safe haven law was enacted in 2001 after a newborn baby girl died of severe dehydration after her teenage mother left her in a shed in Townsend,...
Safe Haven law, also known in several states as the “Baby Moses” law, is the popular name for United States laws that decriminalize leaving unharmed infants with statutorily designated private persons so that the child becomes a ward of the state.
The Tennessee Safe Haven Law (TCA 68-11-255), enacted on July 1, 2001, allows mothers of newborns to surrender unharmed babies within 72 hours of birth, anonymously and without fear of prosecution. Newborns may be surrendered to staff at: In October 2000, a newborn baby girl was found abandoned in a shed in Townsend, Tennessee.
The Tennessee Safe Haven Law, enacted July 1, 2001 and amended in 2009, 2020, 2022, and 2024 allows mothers to surrender their unharmed newborn within 14 days of birth, confidentially and without fear of prosecution for abandonment, to staff at any Safe Haven Facility or in a newborn safety device.
Beginning in Texas in 1999, “Baby Moses laws” or infant safe haven laws have been enacted as an incentive for mothers in crisis to safely relinquish their babies to designated locations where the babies are protected and provided with medical care until a permanent home is found.
