L.A. marks 100th ‘safe surrender’ newborn left at hospital
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Public officials and community members will gather in downtown Los Angeles’ Grand Park late Tuesday afternoon to mark the 100th and 101st newborn babies left at local hospitals under the county’s ‘safe surrender’ program.
A baby boy was left at a Torrance hospital on Nov. 13, Supervisor Don Knabe’s office said, marking the 100th time an infant was surrendered under the 11-year-old program. Two days later, a baby girl was surrendered at a hospital in Downey.
Approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2001, the program allows someone to surrender an infant no more than 3 days old to a fire station or hospital without risk of prosecution as long as the baby shows no signs of abuse.
Knabe’s office said the candlelight ceremony Tuesday, which will feature firefighters and hospital workers who participated in a safe surrender along with parents who adopted safe surrender babies, will begin at 5 p.m. after a 30-minute news conference.
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— Kate Mather
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