More than 100 newborn babies have been safely handed over at fire stations and police departments in Illinois since the state's safe haven law was passed in 2001.
Several of those children and their adoptive parents shared their stories Saturday with reporters at an event in Chicago to draw attention to the law.
They included 4-year-old Riley Dunnett, who playfully darted between chairs set up for the news conference as her father spoke of the elation he felt in picking her up. He waited five years on a list to adopt.
The law offers a parent a safe and legal alternative to abandoning a newborn. Children up to 30 days old can be left at hospitals or fire and police stations with no questions asked and no threat of prosecution.
How Illinois' Safe Haven law is working
