US ‘baby safe havens’ offer pro-life option for desperate mothers

Interest in ‘safe havens’ for newborns has risen in the US since Roe v Wade was overturned in the summer.

All 50 US states now have safe haven legislation in place, which allows mothers in crisis to leave their newborn babies at designated locations without fear of prosecution.

Under the provision, babies may be anonymously handed over to responsible adults — or placed in a specially designed “baby box” — in specified locations.

‘Increase’

In December, during oral arguments in the Supreme Court hearing on Dobbs v Jackson, Justice Amy Coney Barrett suggested Safe Haven laws offered an alternative to abortion.

Reflecting on her comments, Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey said: “We’ve never said we were an abortion alternative, and we don’t want our cause to be painted as one.”

But, she acknowledged, we saw “thousands of people go to Google and look up safe haven laws”. She added: “As a result, we also saw an increase in interest in what we do”.

And the Executive Director of the National Safe Haven Alliance, Heather Burner, reported that during the Supreme Court deliberations on Roe v Wade in June, calls to its helpline increased by 300%.

Help available

Since the Roe v Wade judgment, over a dozen states have passed laws permitting the installation of ‘baby boxes’ in designated public buildings.

Over a decade ago, Michael and Nicole Olson adopted a newborn boy who had been left in a baby box at a hospital in Arizona. Now an energetic 11-year-old, Porter enjoys camping, gardening and cooking.

Mum Nicole, who became an advocate of safe haven laws after the family’s experience, said: “The biggest message I’ve been trying to send out is when you have a desperate situation, somebody will be there to help.”