Posted on 05/05/2016 1:26:13 PM PDT by Morgana
Indiana has a new option for desperate mothers who cannot care for their newborn babies.
Two Safe Haven Baby Boxes, sometimes called baby hatches, recently were installed in Indiana fire stations to receive abandoned infants in a safe, warm environment, according to The Daily Mail. The boxes have padding and climate control, and they alert authorities when a baby has been placed inside. Several European and Asian countries have been using them for years, but Indiana is the first state in the U.S. to initiate the project.
A key leader behind the effort is Monica Kelsey, whose mother abandoned her at a safe haven when she was a baby. Kelsey is a pro-life speaker and writer who works to raise awareness about infant abandonment, safe haven laws and resources for moms and babies.
All 50 U.S. states have save haven laws that allow mothers in crisis to leave their newborns in a safe environment, such as a hospital or fire station, without questions or repercussions. Kelsey is one of about 3,000 babies who have been saved through safe havens. According to The Safe Haven Alliance, 13 babies in Indiana were abandoned at safe havens since the state law took effect in 2000.
Kelsey suggested the boxes to Indiana state Rep. Casey Cox, who then began advocating for the project, the report states. The boxes cost about $1,500, and there are plans to install 100 of them across the state, according to the report. The baby drop boxes are part of a larger effort to raise awareness about infant abandonment in Indiana.
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However, some officials have expressed concerns about the drop boxes. According to the report:
The boxes have been installed despite State Department of Health officials advising last December they not be used.
‘A team of child health experts … carefully studied available research on newborn safety incubators and determined that there are no standards or protocols that can ensure the safety of children placed in these devices,’ Jennifer O’Malley, State Department of Health spokeswoman, told IndyStar.
Advocates argue, however, that despite save haven laws, many children do not make it into safe hands and that new parents need a better way to surrender their newborn.
Dawn Geras, president of the Save the Abandoned Babies Foundation in Chicago, said that while safe haven laws have resulted in more than 2,800 safe surrenders since 1999, more than 1,400 other children have been found illegally abandoned, nearly two-thirds of whom died.
Baby boxes, known in some countries as baby hatches or angel cradles, originated in medieval times, when convents were equipped with revolving doors known as ‘foundling wheels.’
Kelsey told the Indy Star that the boxes were tested and improved to address these concerns.
“We have listened to all the concerns and listened to all the criticisms, and it’s helped us improve the box,” she said. “We’ve never lost focus on our goal. It’s to save these babies that are abandoned.” Kelsey hopes the boxes and increased awareness will help save babies like Amelia Grace Hope, who died in December 2014 after being abandoned in an Indianapolis park.
In response to the baby’s death, Kelsey told LifeNews in 2015:
As a firefighter/medic for the state of Indiana and the fact that I was abandoned as a child, I feel a personal need to educate our youth and our communities about this life-saving law. In a perfect world, we would prefer that the mother come forward, visit a local crisis pregnancy center, and receive the assistance and counseling she needs; however, this may not be possible in all situations. With these cases, we want young women to know that the Safe Haven Law is there as an option that respects the lives of both mother and child.
If you or someone you know would like more information about relinquishing a newborn child, please call 1-877-796-HOPE or go to www.SafeHavenLaw.com.
We tried to stuff Hillary in one on Tuesday but she was too wide to fit in...
No charge, no questions asked.
But when you go to the animal shelter, they interrogate you about the animal, and ask why you want to drop it off. Plus they charge you a fee.
So animals are more important than babies?
To an extent I can see why the animal shelter would. In the future just tell them “No the dog does not have rabies, parvo or distemper or no the cat does not have feline AIDS or Leukemina” Unless it does then tell them. Otherwise you need not tell them a thing.
Why does the state need to do it?
You can drop one off at my house any time
I will make sure it gets taken care of by the authorities and keep it safe until it does.
We should create a national LOGO that anyone who is willing to do this can put on their window
what could possibly go wrong?
The baby hatch goes way back, was used in medieval convents and is still in use today in convents to prevent direct contact between cloistered individuals and laity.
I have one, a very sturdy and very old piece; it works like a hidden bar, you could put books in one side, then spin it and reveal a selection of wines...or vice versa.
It would easily hold a baby. It would hold me!
How do we know you aren’t Big-Fat-Ugly-Bug-Face-Baby-Eating O’Brien?
Your house & mine - yes, good places to drop off an infant.
I’d be afraid however, that there would be those who “traffic” in babies who would abuse the system.
Which is not to say that this couldn’t also happen at a fire-station drop. But at least we’d have a better chance of some accountability there (camera’s, witnesses, etc...)
Of course it shouldn't be that way. In an ideal world all mothers would have the moral courage to save their infant. But it isn't that way. This provides a mother another option.
More information when you leave off a pet? That's okay. They're "apples and oranges" situations.
“what could possibly go wrong?”
Nothing worse than happens at an abortion “clinic”...
Agree.
I thought that we already had these in every major city? Perhaps they are not padded boxes, but there is already a system for dropping off babies with no questions asked. Unfortunately many of the women in crisis ignore this option.
Have a friend who might need this. Is 32 too old to drop off?
No, humans are more important than animals, which is why the new mothers should not be asked. Otherwise they often kill or abandon their babies. These are scared people who went to the trouble to hide their pregnancies.
No, babies are more important. That’s why you don’t play 50 questions and intimidate someone from putting a baby somewhere safe.
Have a friend who might need this. Is 32 too old to drop off?
It’s got to be a newborn. They won’t take back toddlers who refuse to sleep, obnoxious eight year olds, even teenagers! Not fair, huh? At least the 32 year old can drive himself over and ask.
But what if the 32 year old identifies a an infant? Thats supposed to be ok now I hear.
I would change the color to --- I don't know --- silver and white? With pictures of happy babies on it? Make it look cheerful, not stark and utilitarian.
I’m pretty sure I’ve heard on news local fire dept’s have a place to leave new borns no questions.
And any time a newborn is reportedly found abandoned dead or alive the news usually reminds people bring them into any medical facility or church rather than dumpsters or such as happens.
I know I pass a billboard that says “don’t abort. we’ll adopt” put up by a catholic church.
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