Nebraska's governor is calling a special
session of the legislature to fix the state's unique safe-haven
law, which allows parents to abandon children as old as 18.

Gov. Dave Heineman said in a statement released before a news
conference that the session would begin Nov. 14.

Heineman said legislation will be introduced which has already
been agreed to by most of the state's 49 lawmakers. It would amend
the law so it applies only to infants up to 3 days old.

Nebraska's safe-haven law is the only one in the country that
lets anyone leave a child as old as 18 at a state-licensed hospital
without fear of prosecution for the abandonment.

Said Heineman: "This law needs to be changed to focus on its
original intent, which is to protect infants."

A 17-year-old was left at a Lincoln hospital Tuesday night,
making him the 23rd child abandoned since the law took effect in
July.