Safe haven laws

Abstract

This article seeks to address the issue of safe haven laws in the USA, in the context of human rights. More precisely, they refer to the fundamental right to life and also to the adjacent, encompassing body integrity. The following deals with the pressing need in the USA to escape frequent situations in which undesired infants were 'placed in tragic scenarios' by their own mothers. The solution found was to create laws allowing mothers, parents or guardians to leave their unwanted child in a safe location, without being questioned in regard to their identity and also lacking prosecution for the crime. Hence, the central aim of this paper is to strike a balance between the advantages and disadvantages flown by the laws in question, with undoubted consequences upon the child, the parent(s) and the hypothetical adoptive parents.