Safe Haven Baby Boxes and A Safe Haven for Newborns are two charitable organizations with the same goal: to offer stressed mothers a safe place to take their unwanted newborn babies instead of leaving them in landfills or on roadsides.
But a fight between the two is ongoing in the Florida Senate. A state law already passed, supported and promoted by Miami-based A Safe Haven, allows parents to leave newborns at fire stations or hospitals anonymously. A new proposal, backed by Indiana-based Safe Haven Baby Boxes, would give fire departments and hospitals the option of installing the group’s ventilated and heated baskets in places where parents can drop off babies without interacting with staff. .
The proposal recently passed unanimously in the lower house, but a move is underway to block it in the Senate, where it could be debated this week but has little chance of success. Opponents say the baskets are expensive, unnecessary and potentially dangerous for babies, mothers, firefighters and hospital workers. Each side accuses the other of being motivated only by money.
The fight is receiving a lot of attention as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-dominated legislature are expected to soon ban all abortions six weeks into pregnancy, cutting the current 15-week period.
Similar proposals for newborn baby baskets have recently been approved in Kansas, Montana and Mississippi and sent to their respective governors for their signature. The West Virginia legislature is also debating a similar proposal. Baskets are already allowed in nine states, mostly in the South and Midwest, with the largest numbers of baskets available in Indiana, Arkansas and Kentucky. Some 145 baskets have been installed since 2016 and 25 newborns have already been delivered, according to Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
Only one baby has been deposited in the only basket available in Florida, installed without state authorization in a fire station in the center of the state. The baskets open from the outside of the building, allowing the mother to leave the baby while being offered a bag with maternity instructions and recommendations. When the basket is closed, it is locked and the corresponding agency receives an electronic notification. Safe Haven Baby Boxes says that on average the response comes in two minutes.
