§ 19-10A-3.Purpose
Chapter 10A. Eliza Jane Warner Act · Last amended 2026 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-10A-3
Plain-English Summary
This one-sentence section explains why the safe-haven chapter exists. The General Assembly says its express purpose and intent is to prevent injuries to and deaths of newborn children caused by a mother who abandons the newborn. The idea is that a mother in crisis who might otherwise leave a baby somewhere unsafe should have a lawful, safe alternative.
The purpose statement doesn’t create rights or duties by itself. It helps explain the provisions that do. Section 19-10A-4 protects a mother — and anyone helping her at her direction — from prosecution under three named statutes when she leaves a newborn no more than 45 days old with on-duty staff at a designated place or in a newborn safety device. Section 19-10A-6 makes sure the baby gets medical care and goes into the custody of the Department of Human Services, and § 19-10A-7 protects those who receive the child from liability for failing to carry out the chapter’s duties.
Courts often look to a purpose statement when a provision is unclear, so this section can matter when a case asks whether a particular act falls inside the safe-haven protection. Without the chapter, a mother who abandons a child can face charges under the criminal abandonment law in § 19-10-1. The section was last amended in 2026, effective July 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of Georgia’s safe haven law?
To prevent injuries to and deaths of newborn children caused by a mother who abandons the newborn. The General Assembly states that purpose expressly in this section. The rest of Chapter 10A carries it out by giving a mother a safe, lawful way to leave her baby with people who can care for it.
Is Georgia’s safe haven law meant to encourage mothers to give up babies?
That isn’t its stated aim. The aim is narrower: to keep newborns from being hurt or killed when a mother abandons them. The law offers a safer option for a mother who has already decided she can’t keep her baby, by protecting her from certain prosecutions under § 19-10A-4 when she leaves the newborn with on-duty staff at a designated place or in a newborn safety device.
Is the purpose section of the Georgia safe haven law enforceable?
Not on its own. This section states the General Assembly’s purpose and intent; it doesn’t create rights or duties. The enforceable rules are in the other sections of Chapter 10A, especially § 19-10A-4 (protection from prosecution) and § 19-10A-6 (care and custody of the child). A court may consider the stated purpose when it interprets those sections.
What happens if a mother abandons a baby outside the safe haven law in Georgia?
She loses the protection the safe-haven law offers. Leaving a child without enough food, clothing or shelter can be prosecuted as abandonment under § 19-10-1, and § 19-10A-4 names two other criminal statutes from which a qualifying mother is shielded. Whether charges follow outside the safe haven depends on the facts and on prosecutors’ decisions.
Who does the Georgia safe haven law protect?
Its stated purpose is to protect newborn children from injury and death. To do that, § 19-10A-4 shields the mother — and anyone assisting or acting at her direction — from prosecution under three named statutes when she leaves a newborn no more than 45 days old as that section describes. Section 19-10A-7 also protects the facilities and staff who receive the child.
Amendment History
Laws 2002, p. 1137, § 1; Laws 2017, Act 202, § 1, eff. July 1, 2017; Laws 2026, Act 639, § 1, eff. July 1, 2026.