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Amy’s Law

by Jeff Golden, September 2000

New Jersey has a tradition of quickly passing laws in response to social problems, and then spending years trying to figure out how to implement them. The best example that comes to mind is "Megan’s Law," named after Megan Kanka, who was raped and murdered by repeat offender Jesse Temendequas. Under Megan’s Law, neighbors are supposed to be notified of child molesters in their neighborhoods, but the law has never been fully implemented for fear of violating the molesters’ rights.

Bill A-6, the "New Jersey Safe Haven Protection Act," is the latest example. It was introduced on May 22, 2000 by Assembly Speaker Jack Collins and Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk. There were also three Senate versions of the bill. Altogether, there were 38 co-sponsors in both houses of the legislature. Jack Collins, in his role as Acting Governor while Christine Whitman was on vacation, signed it into law on July 7th.

A-6 should be called "Amy’s Law," after Amy Grossberg, the young New Jersey girl who, with the help of her boyfriend Brian Peterson, threw her newborn baby boy in a motel trash dumpster in Delaware. Grossberg and Peterson received jail terms, but results were different for some of the other recent high-profile baby killers. Seventeen year old Helen Sim of Cherry Hill, for example, received no punishment for murdering her baby from Camden County Judge Page, who instead called her "a daughter to be proud of."

The Safe Havens Protection Act is supposed to give these girls an alternative to killing their babies. Under this law, a parent can anonymously deliver, or arrange the delivery of, a baby that appears to be no more than 30 days old, without expressing an intent to return, to a police station or the emergency department of a hospital no questions asked. That’s it. The parent just drops the baby off, walks away, and is no longer a parent.

Why is this law interesting to fathers? Because it gives them a way out of eighteen plus years of child support for an unwanted child. New Jersey’s laws are gender-neutral. Rights under the Safe Havens Protection Act are equally granted to either parent, not just the mother. The father could also drop off a child he doesn’t want.

How does it work? If a woman is pregnant with your unwanted child and refuses to terminate the pregnancy, do not use this as a reason to terminate your relationship with her. Be supportive throughout the pregnancy. If possible, be present when the baby is born.

Hospital personnel now attempt to get men who are with unmarried new mothers to sign an acknowledgment of paternity. We usually recommend that unmarried fathers never acknowledging paternity without DNA paternity testing, but in this case sign the acknowledgment.

As soon after the birth as possible, you alone take the baby to a police station or hospital emergency department, and drop it off. Identify yourself when you do this, and also tell them who the mother is and where they can find her. Also notify the mother of where you dropped off the baby. Once this is done, legally you are no longer the father.

The police or the hospital is required to notify the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) and turn the baby over to them. Since only the father dropped off the child without the mother’s consent or approval, the mother should easily get the child back from DYFS.

After doing this, if you want to, you can resume your relationship with the mother and child.

If, in the future, as so often happens, the relationship sours and you break up, you will not have a child support obligation because legally you are not the father. Keep in mind, too, that since you are not the father, you will also not have any parenting time (visitation) rights.