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Committee Vote Expected This Week on Expansion of Safe Infants Act

By Paul Goyette from Chicago, USA (bird's eye) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

A committee vote is expected this week on legislation to change requirements in Kentucky’s Safe Infants Act.  

The current law allows parents to leave babies younger than three days old at a designated safe place. Louisville Representative and House Health and Welfare Committee Chair Tom Burch is sponsoring a measure that would push the infant age eligibility to 30 days old. 

“Sometimes it might take longer for her to accumulate medical history and things like that if she wants to provide it,” Burch said.  “She doesn’t have to provide anything, just drop it off.  But the more information you have about that baby, the better it is for its future health.”

Burch says as with current law, the baby can show no signs of abuse.  He says one provision being examined would also expand the number of designated drop off locations to include churches.  Burch says that would probably be appropriate only at religious facilities with day care programs.

Stu Johnson is a reporter/producer at WEKU in Lexington, Kentucky.
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