Legislation that would allow parents to surrender there child anonymously to “A Safe Haven Baby Box” will go to Gov. Kay Ivey to be signed into law.
The Safe Haven Baby Box, according to its website, is a “safety device provided for under state’s Safe Haven Law and legally permits a mother in crisis to safely, securely, and anonymously surrender if they are unable to care for their newborn. A Baby Box is installed in an exterior wall of a designated fire station or hospital. It has an exterior door that automatically locks upon placement of a newborn inside the Baby Box, and an interior door which allows a medical staff member to secure the surrendered newborn from inside the designated building.”
Currently, a parent can surrender an infant 72 hours or younger to an emergency medical services provider. The new bill would give the parents 45 days to make a decision and do it anonymously.
“When it gets right down to it, this bill is about protecting lives, about trying to make sure that no newborn baby is going to be abandoned and left somewhere to die,” said Givens (R-Loxley). “I am a pro-life person and I think this bill is certainly an extension of that belief that the lives of these babies are sacred and must be protected.
“By encouraging these Baby Safe Havens, I am hopeful that any parent that would be considering just abandoning their child will go to one of these Baby Safe Haven boxes and leave the child there instead of somewhere dangerous or unprotected where these babies could end up injured or dead. We have to do everything we can to prevent that.”
She also said it could keep young mothers from doing something that they might regret.
“So it’s protecting a baby, a young life that cannot care for itself,” Givens said. “But it’s also giving an opportunity for these young mothers, these young ladies that find themselves being young mothers.
“It gives them the opportunity to do the right thing. It helps keep them on the right path.”
The bill would also require local law enforcement agencies to investigate whether any surrendered infant is a missing child. Under existing law, a parent who surrenders his or her child is provided an affirmative defense to certain charges.
Some of the first areas to get a baby box will be Mobile, Birmingham, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Baldwin County, and Montgomery.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.
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