A newborn girl was dropped off at a hospital in Los Angeles, marking the third “safe surrender” in an eight-day period in the county, authorities said Wednesday.
The girl was the 15th newborn to be surrendered this year under the county’s Safe Surrender program, according to Supervisor Don Knabe. The hospital where she was taken on Tuesday was not identified.
A newborn boy was surrendered at a fire station in Long Beach on Sunday. On Sept. 29, a newborn girl was safely surrendered at a hospital in Montebello.
As is standard practice, the children were taken into protective custody and will be placed with families approved for adoption by the Department of Children and Family Services.
“It’s incredible to know that in the span of two days, two newborns were blessed with a second chance at life because of Safe Surrender,” Knabe said. “This year has been the most successful year for the Safe Surrender program because mothers, who found themselves in a desperate situation, ultimately made the better choice for them and for their babies.”
Since Knabe helped launch the program 14 years ago, 139 newborns have been surrendered. The program allows someone to surrender an infant that is no more than three days old, as long as the infant shows no signs of abuse.
More information is available at here.
— Wire reports