House Journal: Page 1150: Wednesday, April 11, 2001
31 that an individual on duty is aware that the newborn
32 infant has been left at the institutional health
33 facility. The actions may include but are not limited
34 to making telephone contact with the institutional
35 health facility or a 911 service. For the purposes of
36 this chapter and for any judicial proceedings
37 associated with the newborn infant, a rebuttable
38 presumption arises that the person who relinquishes
39 physical custody at an institutional health facility
40 in accordance with this section is the newborn
41 infant's parent or has relinquished physical custody
42 with the parent's authorization.
43 2. a. Unless the parent or other person
44 relinquishing physical custody of a newborn infant
45 clearly expresses an intent to return to again assume
46 physical custody of the newborn infant, an individual
47 on duty at the facility at which physical custody of
48 the newborn infant was relinquished pursuant to
49 subsection 1 shall take physical custody of the
50 newborn infant. The individual on duty may request
Page 2
1 the parent or other person to provide the name of the
2 parent or parents and information on the medical
3 history of the newborn infant and the newborn infant's
4 parent or parents. However, the parent or other
5 person is not required to provide the names or medical
6 history information to comply with this section. The
7 individual on duty may perform reasonable acts
8 necessary to protect the physical health or safety of
9 the newborn infant. The individual on duty and the
10 institutional health facility in which the individual
11 was on duty are immune from criminal or civil
12 liability for any acts or omissions made in good faith
13 to comply with this section.
14 b. If the physical custody of the newborn infant
15 is relinquished at an institutional health facility,
16 the state shall reimburse the institutional health
17 facility for the institutional health facility's
18 actual expenses in providing care to the newborn
19 infant and in performing acts necessary to protect the
20 physical health or safety of the newborn infant. The
21 reimbursement shall be paid from moneys appropriated
22 for this purpose to the department of human services.
23 c. The individual on duty or other person
24 designated by the institutional health facility at
25 which physical custody of the newborn infant was
26 relinquished shall submit the certificate of birth
27 report as required pursuant to section 144.14.
28 3. As soon as possible after the individual on
29 duty assumes physical custody of a newborn infant
© 2001 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
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