Contact: Jeff Barbosa
(916) 319-2723

SACRAMENTO – The following is a statement issued by California State Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico (D-Fremont) on the discovery of the body of an abandoned baby girl found last night on the east bank of the Sacramento River in Sutter County.  The baby’s umbilical cord was still attached.

“The discovery of this baby’s body is another tragic example of how California must do more to build awareness of its Safe Surrender law to protect newborns and prevent more unnecessary tragedies from occurring.

“While the case is still under investigation and all the details are not known, no baby should be tossed aside like a piece of garbage when there is a responsible and anonymous way to safely surrender a newborn. If the child was already deceased, her remains could have been properly handled rather than dumped on a river bank.” 

The Safe Surrender law went into effect in 2001.  It allows troubled parents who are unable or unwilling to care for their babies to surrender their child at designated facilities like a hospital or fire station within 72 hours of birth.

An April 2008 state audit concluded that the program has languished with little or no outreach for several years due to lack of funding.

The state Assembly on Tuesday passed Torrico’s AB 1049 to add the California Safe Surrender Baby Fund to the voluntary contributions section of state income tax forms. The contributions would be used to increase public awareness of the program through public service announcements, safe-surrender hotlines, an Internet website with a comprehensive list of Safe Surrender locations and community education.