The State Senate has given preliminary approval to a bill that would better protect newborn children by giving options to parents who want to abandon their newborn kids. Many Missourians are familiar with the story of a parent who doesn’t want his or her baby and abandons the child in an inappropriate place, such as a dumpster. Senator Michael Gibbons of Kirkwood says his legislation would give options to those parents. In short, a parent who leaves a newborn child in the custody of a staff member at a hospital would not be charged with abandonment. The child would have to be no more than five days old and not physically abused. Gibbons says similar laws are in existence in other states and have already saved the lives of unwanted newborn babies. The bill must get through one more vote in the Senate before it can be sent to the House.
