---
title: O.C.G.A. § 19-10A-4. No criminal prosecution for leaving child in custody of medical facility, fire station, or police station.
collection: code
id: 19-10A-4
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 19-10A-4 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-10A-4
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-10A-4.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-10A-4/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t18-t19-(v16)-2022-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=b0848ebd_0#page=1109
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-10A.md
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index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: DOMESTIC RELATIONS / SAFE PLACE FOR NEWBORNS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 19-10A-4. No criminal prosecution for leaving child in custody of medical facility, fire station, or police station.

A mother shall not be prosecuted for violating Code Section 16-5-70, 16-12-1, or 19-10-1 because of the act of leaving her newborn child in the physical custody of an employee, agent, or member of the staff of a medical facility, fire station, or police station who is on duty, whether there in a paid or volunteer position, provided that the newborn child is no more than 30 days old and the mother shows proof of her identity, if willing, to the person with whom the newborn is left and provides her name and address, if willing.

## History

Code 1981, § 19-10A-4, enacted by Ga. L. 2002, p. 1137, § 1; Ga. L. 2003, p. 140, § 19; Ga. L. 2013, p. 294, § 4-28/HB 242; Ga. L. 2017, p. 522, § 1/HB 391.

## Editor's Notes

Ga. L. 2013, p. 294, § 5-1/HB 242, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2014, and shall apply to all offenses which occur and juvenile proceedings commenced on and after such date. Any offense occurring before January 1, 2014, shall be governed by the statute in effect at the time of such offense and shall be considered a prior adjudication for the purpose of imposing a disposition that provides for a different penalty for subsequent adjudications, of whatever class, pursuant to this Act. The enactment of this Act shall not affect any prosecutions for acts occurring before January 1, 2014, and shall not act as an abatement of any such prosecutions.”