A new bill proposed by State Representative Ina Minjarez could help save infants from facing tragedy.

According to proposed bill HB 683, new parents could surrender an infant one year of age or younger at a designated safe space such as a fire station, police department, or hospital.

The previous baby Moses law only allowed babies 60 days old or younger to be surrendered.

If the new bill is passed it could go into effect as early as September 1, 2021.

You may have heard the news of the missing 18-month-old boy from San Antonio, James Avi Chairez.

KENS 5 reports that baby James and his mother D'Lanny Chairez, 20, have not been seen by family since Thanksgiving 2020.

Police were able to locate D'Lanny and she is currently in custody, but baby James' whereabouts remain unknown. D'Lanny has told police that she gave James away, and that she was unprepared for motherhood.

News4SanAntonio, investigated further into D'Lanny's family and found that Matthew James Dempsey, the father of baby James, is currently incarcerated for murdering his own mother while robbing her.

D'Lanny's grandmother, Patricia Flores, is also incarcerated for the murder of her 2-year-old grandson.

Flores scalded the 2-year-old with hot bath water, and he died 6 days later from an infection as a result.

D'Lanny Chairez's aunt, Mariesol Gomez spoke with KENS5 and had this to say about discussions with Charirez regarding James' disappearence:

"She's like, 'I gave him up for adoption.' And I mean, I'm hysterical, I'm crying, I'm trying to understand why, I'm asking her, 'Why? Why?' And she just said she tried and she didn't want James to live the kind of life that she would have been living – always being questioned about who her mother was and who her baby daddy is."

If HB 683 is passed, maybe we would see less reports of abandoned children, because there would be a safe option available to those who need it most.

If you have information regarding baby James' whereabouts please contact SAPD Missing Person’s Unit at (210) 207-7660.

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