DENVER — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D-Colorado) signed a bill Monday afternoon that will require schools to provide information about Safe Haven laws as part of health education.
Under SB19-025, if a school district chooses to provide a local comprehensive health education program, the curriculum must include information related to state laws that provide for the safe abandonment of newborns.
State law allows a parent to hand over an infant who is up to 72 hours old to an employee at a fire station or hospital with no questions asked. As long as the child is unharmed, the parent will not be prosecuted for abandonment. The law was passed in 2000.
As of March 2016, 51 babies were safely relinquished in Colorado, according to the nonprofit group Colorado Safe Haven for Newborns.
The new law is set to take effect on August 2, 2019.
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