Committee deadlocks and later postpones bill to extend Colorado safe‑haven surrender window to 30 days

Summary

Sponsors sought to increase the legal relinquishment window from 72 hours to 30 days and considered adding ‘newborn safety device’ language, but an amendment removed devices and the committee ultimately voted to postpone HB 25-1257 indefinitely after mixed testimony from public‑safety, medical and reproductive‑justice witnesses.

Rep. Kelty told the House Health and Human Services Committee she proposed HB 25‑1257 to give mothers more time and options to safely relinquish newborns, and said amendments removed language about infant‑abandonment devices so the bill would focus on extending the current 72‑hour surrender window to 30 days.

Supporters — including adopters, foster‑care advocates, maternal‑health clinicians and physicians — said extending the window would give vulnerable parents more time to recover from the immediate postpartum period and make a considered decision rather than resorting to unsafe abandonment. “Allowing parents this 30‑day time period allows them to get past the baby blues or the fourth trimester… and make a clear decision,” said Sarah Tomlinson, a licensed professional counselor who works in hospital pediatrics and the NICU.

Opponents and monitors raised different concerns: some reproductive‑justice and community organizations asked that impacted communities be more thoroughly consulted and…

Committee deadlocks and later postpones bill to extend Colorado safe‑haven surrender window to 30 days

Summary

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