Indiana Introducing Safe Haven Baby Boxes
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Indiana has added a new element to its Safe Haven law that allows mothers to give up newborns by dropping them off at hospitals, police stations, and firehouses.
The first Safe Haven "Baby Box" was installed last week at the fire station in Woodburn, just east of Fort Wayne.
The padded climate-controlled boxes allow mothers to safely surrender their newborns without having to look someone in the eye, according to BJ Mahoney, a Safe Haven advocate whose mother placed her in a trashcan in Alexandria soon after she was born in 1956.
The baby boxes are installed on the exterior wall of a Safe Haven location, and equipped with sensors that alert 911 when the box is opened, and again when a weight sensor is triggered inside. A mother can send another signal to 911 by pushing a button inside the box.
"These boxes are placed in a relatively private area to where mothers can safely surrender them in a safe manner, and they don't have to look anybody in the eye, and they know they're doing the best thing," Mahoney said.
Monica Kelsey, a Woodburn resident whose mother surrendered her at a hospital when she was only a few days old, came up with the idea to make the Safe Haven process easier for mothers and safer for their infants, and to allow mothers struggling with their decision to remain anonymous.
"We're super excited about this. We've worked really hard. We're hoping that no more babies are ever abandoned in the state of Indiana," she said.
The Knights of Columbus has agreed to cover the cost of 100 such baby boxes in Indiana.
