CONCORD, N.H. – Today, Governor Sununu signed HB 1607, legislation aimed at fixing New Hampshire’s broken safe haven law to save babies from fatal abandonment or abuse.
The most important provision of this bill is the “exclusionary rule,” which incentivizes criminal parents to surrender their babies. Under this rule, any evidence obtained from a Safe Haven drop-off is inadmissible in a criminal trial against a parent.
Law enforcement’s misuse of Safe Havens to catch and prosecute criminal parents like Danielle Dauphinais and Joseph Stapf raised the specter of arrest for other criminal parents and rendered the original law completely ineffective. The “exclusionary rule” restores the law’s intended purpose – to save babies – by eliminating the well-founded fear that criminal parents will be prosecuted as a result of surrendering their baby to authorities.
“Babies at risk of being abused, abandoned, and killed by their parents should never be used as bait to catch criminals,” said Cornerstone Executive Director, Shannon McGinley. “This law rightly ensures that the most vulnerable Granite State babies like Mattilynn Kitner, who was suffocated in a couch while her mother was high, won’t pay for their parents’ crimes with their lives.”
Mattilynn Kitner, a 2-week-old Somersworth baby, was the subject of a wrongful death suit earlier this year.
In response to critics’ claims that the “exclusionary rule” dangerously circumvents law and order, McGinley testified before the House HHS Committee that this stance promotes the false assertion that if at-risk babies can’t be safely surrendered, they will be safely raised in a stable home.
Additionally, the law raises the arbitrary age-limit for surrendered babies from 7 days to 61 days, setting a new benchmark among its New England neighbors. It also allows for the use of infant safety devices (also known as Safe Haven Baby Boxes) for parents to safely and anonymously surrender a child at 24-hour staffed facilities. While over 200 of these devices are used across the country, none have been installed in New England.
“Granite State pro-lifers are proud to become New England’s leader in protections for at-risk infants,” McGinley stated. “Thanks to Governor Sununu for taking action to fix the integrity of New Hampshire Safe Havens and prevent cruel and inhumane infant deaths. HB 1607’s champions in the State House, Hon. Phyllis Woods; Rep. Lisa Mazur; Rep. Glenn Cordelli; Rep. Margaret Drye; Rep. Katy Peternel; Rep. Maureen Mooney; along with all the Senate Republicans, deserve praise for their tireless efforts to deliver this lifesaving bill to the Governor’s desk.”
Thank Those Who Worked to Pass the Safe Haven Expansion Into Law
Many individuals tireless worked to advance this life saving legislation to the desk of the Governor, and then into law.
We encourage you to reach out to and thank Rep. Glenn Cordelli and Rep. Katy Peternel, who dedicated significant efforts to this cause.
Additionally, we ask that you thank the remaining sponsors of HB 1607:
Rep. Maureen Mooney
Rep. Mark Pearson
Rep. Gerri Cannon
Rep. Candace Gibbons
Rep. Dianne Schuett
Rep. Jonah Wheeler
Rep. Matthew Coker
Rep. Jodi Nelson
Rep. Margaret Drye
Rep. Lisa Mazur
Rep. Jim Kofalt
Sen. Jeb Bradley
Sen. Sharon Carson
Sen. Regina Birdsell
Sen. Bill Gannon
Sen. Daryl Abbas
Finally, we urge you to thank the Hon. Phyllis Woods for the vital role she played in ensuring this legislation crossed the finish line and into New Hampshire law.