Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 540 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to provide immunity from prosecution for leaving an unharmed newborn at a hospital, fire station, or police station within 72 hours of birth. The bill also provides hospitals, fire stations, and police stations immunity from liability for receiving a newborn. A medical history of the newborn is required from the person relinquishing the child.

The Blue Print For Change, Hawaii Catholic Conference, and Hawaii Family Forum supported this bill. The Department of Human Services provided comment.

Your Committees find that 41 states have safe surrender laws that allow infants to be relinquished to emergency personnel or health care providers. This is an important step in protecting children from harm by allowing a distraught person the option of giving up the child to a safe environment.

Your Committees have amended this bill by inserting language that allow for voluntary disclosure of identity by the person abandoning the child.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 540, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 540, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.