DeSantis Extends Infant Surrender Period To 30 Days Under New Florida Law

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Left Photo by Ron DeSantis | Facebook and Right Photo by Safe Haven Baby Boxes | Facebook

Caring for an infant is a huge undertaking, and not everyone feels capable of doing so. Due to this, new parents are allowed to surrender their infants to authorities. Filed on December 7, 2023, House Bill 775 proposed extending the surrender time period and adding an additional method of legal surrendering.

Before House Bill 775 became a law, infants could be surrendered up until they were 7 days old. Now, the bill has modified original surrender wording from “newborn infants” to “infants” and allows for them to be surrendered up until approximately 30 days old.

A parent may now also lawfully surrender an infant by dialing 911 and requesting an emergency medical service (EMS) to pick the infant up. The EMS provider will meet the parent at an agreed upon location. If a parent decides to use this method of surrender, then he or she must remain with the infant until the EMS provider takes custody.

Alternatively, a parent may surrender an infant in a hospital immediately after delivery by notifying “medical staff or a licensed healthcare professional” that the infant is being voluntarily given up and that the parent does not intend on returning.

In addition, this law “extends immunity from criminal investigation” to a parent for leaving an infant at an EMS station, with EMS personnel, or at a fire station and to a hospital’s medical staff “acting in good faith when accepting a surrendered infant at a hospital in accordance with statutory provisions”.

House Bill 775 was originally prepared by the House Policy Committee. Then, it was approved by unanimous vote in the Senate and House with votes of 35-0 and 117-0, respectively. Ultimately, this bill was approved by Governor DeSantis on May 29 and took effect on July 1, 2024.

For complete details on this new law, click here to read the full 12 pages of House Bill 775. For the official summary of the bill, click here. 
​
Article by Ema Tibbetts