Section 24-22-3 - Leaving an infant.
24-22-3. Leaving an infant.
A. A person may leave an infant with the staff of a hospital without being subject to criminal prosecution for abandonment or abuse if the infant was born within ninety days of being left at the hospital, as determined within a reasonable degree of medical certainty, and if the infant is left in a condition that would not constitute abandonment or abuse of a child pursuant to Section 30-6-1 NMSA 1978.
B. A hospital may ask the person leaving the infant for the name of the infant's biological father or biological mother, the infant's name and the infant's medical history, but the person leaving the infant is not required to provide that information to the hospital.
C. The hospital is deemed to have received consent for medical services provided to an infant left at a hospital in accordance with the provisions of the Safe Haven for Infants Act [24-22-1 NMSA 1978] or in accordance with procedures developed between the children, youth and families department and the hospital.