BILL NUMBER:A11111

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend
the penal law, in
relation to abandoned infants; and to repeal section 260.03 of the penal
law relating thereto

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To better implement
the Abandoned
Infant Protection Act of 2000 by allowing individuals to abandon
infants up to thirty days old and by providing that individuals who
abandon their infants as prescribed by law will not be held
criminally liable.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section one amends
section 260.00 of
the penal law to provide that a person is not guilty of the crime of
abandonment of a child when he or she deserts such child with intent
to wholly abandon the child where the parent abandons the child with
the intent that the child be safe from physical injury and cared for
in an appropriate manner, the parent leaves the child with an
appropriate person or in a suitable location and promptly notifies an
appropriate person of the child's location, and the child is not more
than thirty days old.
              

Section two amends section 260.10 of the penal law, subdivision 1 as
amended by chapter 476 of the laws of 1990 and subdivision 2 as
amended by chapter 920 of the laws of 1982, to provide that a person
is not guilty of the crime of endangering the welfare of a child when
he or she deserts such child with intent to wholly abandon the child
where the parent abandons the child with the intent (i) to wholly
abandon the child by relinquishing responsibility for and rights to
the care and custody of the child, and (ii) that the child be safe
from physical injury and cared for in an appropriate manner, the
parent leaves the child with an appropriate person or in a suitable
location and promptly notifies an appropriate person of the child's
location, and the child is not more than thirty days old.

Section three amends section 260.15 of the penal law, as amended by
chapter 156 of the laws of 2000, to eliminate the affirmative defense
provided in subdivision 2 in a prosecution for endangering the
welfare of a child where the defendant leaves a child with the intent
that the child be safe from physical injury and with an appropriate
person or in a suitable location since this bill would eliminate the
crime of endangering the welfare of a child on the basis of
abandonment under the circumstances set forth in this section.

Section four provides for the repeal of section 250.03 of the penal law.

Section five provides the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION: Currently, all fifty states have laws,
often termed
Safe Haven or Baby Moses legislation, to protect infants who are
safely abandoned. In. 2000, New York enacted the Abandoned Infant
Protection Act (the Act) in order to allow a person to safely abandon
an infant not more than five days old with an appropriate person or
in a suitable location without the fear of criminal prosecution.
Enacted to prevent infanticides throughout the state, the Act amended
the social services law to require the Office of Children and Family
Services (OCFS) to develop and implement a public information program
to inform the general public of the new law, and amended the penal
law to provide an affirmative defense to criminal prosecution for
both the felony crime of abandonment of a child and the misdemeanor
crime of endangering the welfare of a child where a person leaves an
infant not more than five days old with an appropriate person or in a
suitable location and promptly notifies an appropriate person of the
child's location and does so with the intent that the child be safe
from physical injury and cared for in an appropriate manner.

This legislation seeks to amend the Act in two important ways. First,
the bill eliminates criminal liability where a person leaves an
infant with an intent to wholly abandon the child by relinquishing
responsibility for and rights to the care and custody of the child,
with the intent that the child be safe from physical injury and cared
for in an appropriate manner, and leaves the infant with an
appropriate person or in a suitable location and promptly notifies an
appropriate person of the child's location, and the child is not more
than thirty days old.

Second, the bill provides for the safe and anonymous abandonment of an
infant thirty days or younger. By increasing the age of an infant who
is abandoned from five days or younger to thirty days or younger,
this legislation provides a parent more time to consider whether to
abandon his or her child and also to come forward to establish
parental rights should he or she have second thoughts after
abandoning the child.

There have been one hundred eighteen babies who have been safely
abandoned pursuant to the Act and one hundred twelve adoptions of
those babies since the-law passed in 2000. ("Parents in Crisis Have
many Options for Giving Babies Haven Officials Say" by Tina Kelley,
March 5, 2008, The New York Times.) The Act was enacted to save the
lives of unwanted, newborn infants. This legislation furthers the
intent of the Act and facilitates its implementation by giving
parents more time to make their decision and not subjecting them to
criminal prosecution should they choose to abandon their child and do
So safely and as otherwise prescribed by law.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: Same as S.2950-C,
committed to Codes.
Similar to A.10528/S.7983, 2008 referred to Judiciary.

FISCAL IMPLICATION: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.