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Updated Safe Haven Law In Wyoming Receiving Good Feedback
Published
4 weeks agoon
A new Wyoming law that went into effect last month that allows parents of a newborn more time to decide if they want to give up their child for adoption, is receiving praise from those who are involved in adoption cases.
House Bill 90, also known as the Safety for a Newborn Child Act, updates Wyoming’s Safe Haven law.
A parent of a baby 60 days old or younger can now safely give up their child for any reason to ensure the baby is cared for and kept safe, and under the new law, the parent would not be considered abusive or neglectful.
Under the old law, parents only had 14 days.
Safe Haven locations include a fire department, a law enforcement station or hospital, as long as any of those places are open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
Debra Wendtland of Sheridan who oversees adoptions, says the new law takes some pressure off of a parent and gives them more time to see if they can make parenthood work, plus decreases the odds of a parent regretting their decision, regardless of which path they choose.
“The ability to give these moms even more time to see what real life is like and what can I handle and what can’t I handle, that’s a good thing. That helps provide tools for that mom, if she ultimately gives that child up, when the hard times come in the future and she says, ‘Did I do the right thing,’ she can say ‘Yeah, I tried. I tried, and the realities of everyday life were the proof that at this time in my life to do it.’”
House Bill 90 was sponsored by Wyoming State House Representative Rachel Rodriguez-Williams of Cody.