Montpelier--Lt. Governor Brian Dubie today delivered testimony before the Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee, in support of proposed legislation that would grant a new mother immunity from prosecution if she abandons her baby at a safe place like a hospital, church, police station or fire department. H.27, An Act Relative To The Safe Haven Abandonment of Newborns and Infants, is also known as the Baby Safe Haven legislation. At this time, only Vermont, Nebraska, Alaska, and Hawaii are without safe haven laws.

Lt. Governor Dubie's testimony follows:

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"Good morning, Chairman Sears and Vice Chairman Campbell. Today, I am appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of an Act Relative To The Safe Haven Abandonment of Newborns and Infants, known as the Baby Safe Haven legislation.

"I am convinced that Vermont needs Baby Safe Havens legislation, because we have been confronted with tragic and near tragic instances where newborns have been abandoned in dangerous and life threatening situations.

"Secretary of State Markowitz has told of finding a newborn baby abandoned in a wooded area right here in Montpellier. A miracle occurred that day when she found that baby, but it is a miracle we cannot count on in the future.

"That child is alive today purely by happenstance, and the good fortune of being discovered before being injured, or worse.

"I firmly believe that only through the enactment of Baby Safe Haven legislation can we proactively work towards bringing an end to unsafe infant abandonment within our state.

"Forty-six states have become sufficiently concerned about unsafe abandonment of newborn infants to enact safe havens legislation. Texas became the first to enact a statewide safe havens law in 1999.

"The intent of safe havens legislation is clear: to save infants whose lives are placed at risk because desperate and panicked mothers did not have a safe alternative that this legislation would provide.

"I know the members of this committee may hear the arguments of critics of safe havens legislation, who raise concerns about the legal rights of biological fathers, and the fact that abandoned children may never learn of their medical histories or genealogical background. While these concerns are valid, they pale in importance when compared to the act of preserving an infant’s life by providing a parent with a safe alternative to abandonment.

"Vermont is surrounded by states that have Baby Safe Haven laws; only Vermont, Nebraska, Alaska, and Hawaii are without safe haven laws.

"A startling statistic confronts us in Vermont. Ninety-nine percent of the population of the United States lives in a state that has a Baby Safe Haven law. That statistic suggests a negative statistic for Vermont in the following manner: ninety-nine percent of out of state college students come from states with Baby Safe Haven laws. Ninety-nine percent of young people who come to Vermont to vacation, or who come to Vermont to work, come from states with a Baby Safe Haven law. That creates a dramatically high possibility that one of these young women could try to avail herself, here in Vermont, of her home state's Baby Safe Haven law, not knowing that there is no such law on our books today.

"Our own students and young women are taught all about Baby Safe Haven laws by network programs such as CBS's "Joan of Arcadia," NBC's "ER," WB's "Seventh Heaven," and several more. Our young citizens deserve our proactive stance. Vermont must not fall behind virtually the entire country on an issue of safety and child welfare.

"I have been in contact with advocates who worked for the passage of the Massachusetts Baby Safe Haven law, and my friend Lt. Governor Healey of Massachusetts is that state's leading advocate for its proper implementation.

"That law has just seen two safely surrendered babies in the last month. One month before passage of the Massachusetts law last summer, two newborns' lives were dangerously close to ending, before they were miraculously found minutes before succumbing to exposure and blood loss.

"I will work with Lt. Governor Healey to bring Massachusetts’ education program to Vermont. I have also heard from former State Representative Phyllis Woods of Dover, New Hampshire.

"Representative Woods was the sponsor of the New Hampshire Baby Safe Haven bill. That New Hampshire law should serve as our exact model, as it includes as a safe haven any EMT or paramedic vehicle that can meet "at an agreed upon location following a 911 call." This is an extremely important point of New Hampshire’s law, because it recognizes that in most rural areas like those in New Hampshire and Vermont, many police and fire stations are unmanned.

"In closing, I would like to thank the members of the committee for this opportunity to testify in support of Baby Safe Havens legislation."