A baby was brought to a Plano, Texas, fire station under Texas’ Safe Haven Law on May 18 and placed with a foster family.
According to ABC, a woman arrived at Plano’s Fire Station 1 on K Avenue around 11:30 in the morning. She told a firefighter that the baby was two days old and that she didn’t feel as though she could take proper care of the child.
The child was then taken to Children’s Medical Center Plano and found to be healthy. After Child Protective Services received custody of the child, the baby was placed in a foster home.
This is the third baby to be left at a fire station in Plano since the Texas Safe Haven Law took effect in 1999.
“I believe this is the ultimate act of love,” said Fire Chief Sam Greif. “This mother knew, for whatever reason, she could not provide the home that others so badly want to provide. I hope others that find themselves in her position will show the love and compassion she demonstrated.”
Under the Safe Haven Law in Texas, parents can leave an infant 60 days old or younger with an employee at a hospital, fire station, EMS station, child welfare agency, or freestanding ER if they decide they can’t care for the baby.
Safe Haven laws exist throughout the United States, but vary from state to state. Parents can drop the baby off anonymously without fear of arrest so long as the child has not been abused in any way. Safe Haven laws were put in place to protect babies from being hurt or killed by parents who believe they are unable to be a parent or who are at risk of abandoning their child.
Rather than place the child in a dumpster, as has has happened so often, parents can remain anonymous and keep their child safe. As of 2017, 3,317 infants have been saved through Safe Haven laws. More information on Safe Haven laws is available here.
