Safe Haven For Newborns referral helpline received a call on the morning of Father�s day, 2003 from a young mother of a 2-day-old girl who needed help and wanted to leave her baby at a fire rescue station, a Safe Haven facility. After the helpline operator assisted her, the young, frightened mother rang the doorbell at the selected fire station. As the door opened, the young girl told the firefighter �I want to leave my baby at a Safe Haven." She handed the baby over to the firefighter and quickly left the station. Everyone at the fire station marveled at this precious child. The baby was then taken to the nearest hospital where she was given a clean bill of health. A private adoption agency was contacted and the baby was placed with a loving family that was prepared and waiting to adopt. Beginning in Texas in 1999, "Baby Moses laws" or infant safe haven legislation has been enacted as an incentive for mothers in crisis to safely relinquish their babies to a safe haven where the baby will be protected and provided with medical care until a permanent home can be found. Safe haven laws generally allow the parent, or an agent of the parent, to remain anonymous and to be shielded from prosecution for abandonment or neglect in exchange for safely surrendering the baby to a safe haven. To date, approximately 46 States of America have enacted safe haven legislation to provide a vehicle for the safe relinquishment of unwanted newborns. Safe haven providers include hospitals, emergency medical services, police stations, and fire stations. Generally, anyone on staff at these institutions can receive an infant, and the provider is authorized to provide any care and treatment the infant may require. NOW WHY THE FUK ISN'T THERE SOMETHING LIKE THAT HERE!!!! New Zealand is rated the 6th highest in THE WORLD for infancy death as a result of child abuse, not to mention the new craze of abandoning your baby in the park, or the street, or a public toilet or even sadly a rubbish skip, don't these chidren deserve a chance Don't they deserve a life "Emotional abuse increased from 78 investigations in December 2000 to a whopping 479 in December 2005. Sexual abuse increased dramatically, with increases for Maori children from 12 to 58 and Pakeha children from 15 to 50. Neglect almost doubled for both Maori and Pakeha children, and leapt from 1 to 50 for Pacific Island children. With substantiated cases of abuse totalling 13,000 last year, up from 6,000 in the year 2000, this monthly snapshot shows clearly that abuse is increasing in frequency and severity." It's an absolute insult for the Minister to glibly dismiss these appalling increases as a result of more awareness. In Opposition, Helen Clark described our sixth placing in worldwide child abuse statistics as shameful. Well, things have got worse, not better under her watch, yet her Government refuses to face facts. We have to do something. Having something like Safe Havens set up will bring down these horrible child abuse satistics, even the high number of single mothers on the benefit and the amount of large families who cannot afford to eat.... If mothers had a safe place where they could take their baby, and be asked no questions, a babies life could be saved!!!! Please sign my petition to have safe havens established in New Zealand and when there's lots of names on it I will send it down to wellington, It may not be much, but it's something...we have to do SOMETHING! These Innocent children don't have a voice...we're it... Thank you for your time

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