In the U.S., over 3,000 babies have been saved from child abandonment over the past 15 years thanks to one simple solution: a safe haven baby box.
Not to be confused with Finnish baby boxes, these Safe Haven Baby Boxes are a safe place where parents can legally and anonymously leave unwanted children. As soon as a baby is dropped off in the box, 911 is immediately dialed.
A company in Indiana created these boxes to curb child abandonment. While the U.S. has a law that allows mothers to legally surrender unwanted children, Woodburn, Indiana’s Chief of Police, Randy Duhamell, says women don’t often comply.
“The safe-haven law provides that a mother of a newborn child, within 30 days, can bring that child to a police station or a fire station and relinquish the child without any fear of prosecution,” Duhamell explains. “The problem with that is most of those locations are kind of intimidating to a young mother who doesn’t want to be identified.”
That’s why Safe Haven Baby Boxes were created.
While founder Monica Kelsey hopes women turn to professionals for help first, she says, “We want them to know that this is an option if they find that they have no other choice.”
Watch the video above for more on how the Indiana baby box works.
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