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Iowa accepts state’s 18th safe haven baby

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May 2nd, 2014 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Officials say the state has taken custody of a newborn baby under Iowa’s safe haven law. The Department of Human Services announced Friday a woman who gave birth on April 15 at an Iowa hospital had immediately asked that the infant be declared a safe haven baby. Under state law, parents can give up custody of babies age 14 days and younger with no questions asked.

The agency has taken custody of the baby and a court hearing to terminate parental rights will be held within a month. It’s the 18th time the state has taken a child under the safe haven law, which was approved in 2001 after an eastern Iowa teenage mother killed her home-delivered newborn.

The state didn’t release details, including where the baby was born.