On Monday, a baby girl was surrendered at the Kokomo Safe Haven Box in Indiana, at Kokomo Fire Station #1, from which the firefighter brought her to medical safety. This is the fifth baby this year to be surrendered at a baby box in Indiana, and the 12th to be surrendered in the country in total this year.
Safe Haven laws are different throughout the U.S., but in Indiana the Safe Haven Law states that a person can surrender an “unwanted infant anonymously without fear of arrest or prosecution.”
Safe Haven Baby Boxes are much like incubators that have alarm systems. They are safe places for a new mother to leave her baby if she doesn’t feel she has the means to care for her child. Once the baby is placed in the box, 911 is called immediately and the infant is taken by a first responder to the closest medical facility. These baby boxes are typically located near a fire station, so the firefighter is able to bring them to a place of safety.
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As Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey states in a Facebook video, women can safely surrender their children up to 30 days old and can come back to re-claim them up to 30 days after they are dropped off.
In this particular instance, Kelsey told Live Action News, “You can tell that whoever placed her in the box loved her.”
She explains that “[The baby] wasn’t born in a hospital, which is pretty common for our babies [but] a lot of thought went into [bringing the baby to the safe haven box].”
Kelsey stresses that we “need to continue to let women know that this is an option. It’s basically an adoption plan but closed. [Both] the child’s life and the mother’s life goes on.”
READ: Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder urges lawmakers to remember ‘anonymity matters’
There has been much other news lately about “babies being dumped, and left, and abandoned,” and Kelsey explains how important it is that word continues to get out about this safe and legal option for women to turn their babies over anonymously. You can read more about safe haven boxes here.
The firefighter who brought this little girl to medical care acknowledged how honored he was to be the first person to hold and protect her.
“How they [the firefighters] react, and how protective they are of these infants that mothers trusted them with” shows, according to Kelsey, how important it is that we continue to spread awareness of safe haven baby laws. Find out your state’s Safe Haven law here.
