Two Safe Haven Baby Boxes have been installed in Indiana where unwanted babies can be dropped off anonymously. One is outside the Woodburn Volunteer Fire Department and one is in Michigan City.
Medical Daily said that a Safe Haven Baby Box is a container for newborns that has padded features and is climate-controlled. The baby drop-off boxes are also connected to a security system, alerting emergency personnel inside the building that a baby has been placed in the box.
Baby drop-off boxes for unwanted infants are a real thing in Indiana https://t.co/nyNUzunIJJ pic.twitter.com/pkkMGaORno
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) May 3, 2016
Baby Drop-Off Boxes Are 'Not Criminal'
"This is not criminal. This is legal. We don't want to push women away," Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey said via The Independent. Kelsey said that the baby drop-off boxes are advantageous because some people who leave babies behind want to remain anonymous but also know that the babies are safe.
New York Daily News reported that all American states have safe haven laws which do not place legal consequences on parents who give up their babies. In States such as Indiana, mothers may drop off their babies at hospitals, police stations and fire stations. "Babies left under these laws become wards of the state, and the parent who left them is safe from prosecution, according to Medical Daily.
Baby Drop-Off Boxes To Be Paid For By Knights Of Colombus
Each Safe Haven Baby Box costs between $1,500 and $2,000. The Knights of Colombus will pay for the first 100 baby drop-off boxes. Reports said that critics believe that the boxes dissuade those wanting to give up their babies from thinking of other options.
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