By AP/KWMU
Springfield, Ill. – Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has signed a law Thursday that makes the abandoned baby program permanent.
People can safely drop newborn infants off at hospital, and police and fire stations without fear of prosecution. The intent is to keep unwanted babies from being thrown in the trash.
The four-year-old law would have expired in 2007 without Blagojevich's action.
But the law is also not very well known. As of April, the Save Abanonded Babies Foundation says 14 babies had been left at safe havens since the law went into effect. But also during that time 33 babies were illegally abandoned, and 18 of them died.