Bill filed would allow babies up to 12-months-old to be surrendered, mothers wouldnโt be prosecuted
SAN ANTONIO โ Texas was the first state in the nation to enact a Baby Moses Law allowing mothers to safely surrender their babies at hospitals, fire stations and police stations, without penalty. Now, advocates say Texas needs to follow other states like North Dakota and Missouri that have extended their laws, allowing mothers to surrender babies up to 12 months. โIn 2011, we got a call for a baby and we were told she had been left at a fire station,โ said Laurie Cobb, who adopted a Baby Moses baby nine years ago. Bella, now nine years old, had been safely surrendered as part of the Baby Moses Law. Related: Advocates want to extend age of babies allowed to be surrendered under Baby Moses law
Bexar County DA, Public Defender, state lawmaker discuss justice reform
SAN ANTONIO โ Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales, Chief Public Defender Michael Young, and state Rep. Ina Minjarez of San Antonio discussed justice reform as part of Texas RioGrande Legal Aidโs Finding the Way Forward series. Gonzales took office as Bexar County DA in 2019. The county hired Young in 2015 to head the Bexar County Public Defenderโs Office, which was created in 2005. Young has been a prosecutor in the Rio Grande Valley and served as a federal public defender. She is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and a member of the Houseโs first Criminal Justice Reform Caucus.