State Senator Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro) introduced legislation this week to expand Tennessee's Safe Haven Law, which allows mothers to safely and anonymously surrender their unharmed newborns to certain facilities throughout the state without fear of prosecution for abandonment. Senate Bill 2629 would increase the maximum age of an infant that can be surrendered under the Safe Haven Law from 72 hours old to 14 days old.

"Tennessee's Safe Haven Law has saved the lives of many newborns across the state by providing mothers with an additional option to choose life for their child," said Senator White. "By increasing the time frame from three to fourteen days, it will expand the opportunity to keep a child from being neglected or harmed."

Tennessee has over 750 facilities where mothers can surrender their children including hospitals, birthing centers, community health clinics, walk-in clinics, EMS facilities, and certain fire stations and police stations. Since the Safe Haven Law was adopted in 2001, over 100 newborns have been surrendered to approved locations in Tennessee.

All fifty states have safe haven policies in place, and the time frames to surrender infants across the country range from three days to one year.

"I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this legislation, so we can provide further opportunities to prevent the unsafe abandonment of newborns in Tennessee," added White.