Safe Haven Laws, which allow a mother to leave an infant at first responder sites within a certain specified number of days or months following the birth of the infant, have been known to save lives — like this baby in Texas. And because of such laws, Indiana has just seen its second baby saved in less than six months, thanks to two brave, anonymous mothers who chose life and left their babies in a safe place.
In a previous article for Live Action News, Monica Kelsey, a firefighter/medic for the state of Indiana who was abandoned as an infant herself and who started the Safe Haven Baby Boxes nonprofit, explained why Safe Haven laws are so necessary and lifesaving:
In most states, a woman has 30 days after birth to safely surrender the child at any fire station, police station, or hospital with no questions asked. In some of these states, the girl gets free medical care to assist with the birth of the child or any complications resulting from the birth. This law is a win-win situation for all parties involved. The mother walks away with zero chance of prosecution, while the baby has the opportunity to be adopted into a loving home, and a family open their hearts and home to the child for whom they’ve prayed.
READ: The incredible story of the Baby Drop Box
The latest baby to be rescued, whose sex and age are unidentified, was left with the umbilical cord attached in a specially designed baby box at a firehouse near Michigan City, Indiana, and is now in the custody of Child Protective Services. When a baby is placed inside the box, an alarm is triggered. The Chicago Tribune reports:
For the second time in five months, someone anonymously placed a newborn in the station’s box, one of two in the state. The box, fire officials said, worked as it was supposed to, setting off a medical alarm on firefighters’ pagers when it was opened and keeping the baby warm and secure for the brief period of time until someone arrived at the station and, more importantly, protecting the identity of the person who dropped off the child.
Lt. Chuck Kohler, a firefighter and father of five, said his pager went off with a medical alarm and he was the first to arrive on the scene to receive the infant. “I heard a child crying,” he said, adding “I don’t think there’s a word for the emotion…. I was happy, ecstatic to hear the crying, to know the baby is breathing. It was exciting, an adrenaline rush that this is really happening.”
The other baby saved in the state was found on November 7, 2017. The little girl, “Baby Hope,” was placed into a home and is in the process of being adopted — further proving that Safe Haven Laws, and likewise baby boxes, save lives. These mothers who chose life for their babies yet didn’t feel they could care for them may have been desperate, but they were very brave. They gave their babies a chance at life with adoptive families.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes are also allowed in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
