Bill > HF1903

This bill modifies Minnesota's Safe Place for Newborns law by expanding the definition of "safe places" where parents can legally and anonymously surrender newborn infants. The bill now includes fire stations continuously staffed 24 hours a day, health care providers offering urgent care, ambulance services responding to 911 calls, and specifically designed newborn safety devices. For safety devices, the bill mandates specific requirements, such as having a dual alarm system tested monthly, being FDA-approved, and located inside a staffed fire station or hospital. The bill clarifies that safe places must not inquire about the mother's identity and can provide social service information, but are not required to. The law continues to provide immunity from criminal and civil liability for safe places and their employees who receive newborns in good faith, and adds a new provision explicitly stating that no person can be prosecuted for a crime solely for leaving a newborn in compliance with the law. These provisions aim to provide a safe, anonymous method for parents to surrender newborns without fear of legal repercussions, while ensuring the infant's immediate medical care and safety.

Health and Social Services

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF1903&ssn=0&y=2025