A Kentucky baby was discovered safe and healthy inside a specially-designed Safe Haven Baby Box last week in Bowling Green, just two months after a local fire station installed it.
WBKO reports first responders at the Bowling Green Fire Department rescued the baby on Feb. 9 less than two minutes after the mother surrendered her child. Local authorities said the newborn was healthy.
Kentucky law protects newborns from infanticide by providing struggling mothers who cannot care for their babies themselves the opportunity to legally and safely give their children to authorities. Once surrendered, the babies are taken to the hospital for medical care and later placed for adoption.
According to the fire department, they installed the baby box in December, and the baby was the first to be surrendered there.
Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, thanked the baby’s parents for trying to do what’s best for their child during a press conference last week, Breitbart reports.
“Thank you for doing what you felt you could for the life of this child,” Kelsey said. “This baby is healthy. This baby is beautiful. This baby is perfect. And the Department of Child Services is now looking for a forever home for this family… If this parent is out there and they want the resources of counseling or medical care, it is available for you at no cost.”
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Kentucky has 16 baby boxes across the state, according to WNKY.
To-date, Kelsey’s organization has helped install more than 130 baby boxes in communities across the country. Kelsey said each box is temperature controlled and has an alarm that alerts authorities as soon as a baby is placed inside. She said they cost about $200 to $300 per year to maintain.
All 50 states have safe haven laws that allow mothers to safely surrender their newborns to authorities, often at a police station, fire department or hospital, without questions or repercussions as long as the infant is unharmed. Typically, laws allow safe surrender within a certain time limit, such as up to 30 days after the baby’s birth.
According to Centers for Disease Control research, “Since 1999, when Texas became the first state to implement Safe Haven Laws, an estimated 4,100 infants have been safely surrendered nationwide.”
LifeNews Note: File photo.
