As a grandfather, nothing brings me more joy than my grandkids. The little ones are a constant reminder of how precious life truly is. My respect for life led me to see what Indiana is doing to protect the most vulnerable members of our society.
Too often we hear stories of newborn abandonment with tragic outcomes. According to the Ambulance Medical Technician Children of Hope Foundation, there are roughly 200 abandoned newborns each year throughout the nation. We never want to see these sad headlines, and my heart aches for any parent who feels that they cannot care for their newborn.
All 50 states have what is known as a Safe Haven Law, which allows parents to anonymously relinquish an infant without fear of arrest or prosecution. Under Indiana law, a parent, family member, friend, social worker, minister, priest or any responsible adult may give up custody of a baby less than 30 days old to a hospital emergency room, fire station or police station. The law has served to save the lives of 13 babies in Indiana.
However, since the law’s inception in 2000, Safe Haven Indiana reported that still yet, another 13 babies’ lives were lost because they were improperly abandoned. Currently, if a parent wishes to abandon their child, he or she must walk into an emergency provider facility. For some, the situation is so overwhelming they choose to abandon their child in an otherwise unsafe environment.
In an effort to expand upon Indiana’s Safe Haven law, I co-authored House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1016 this session with the intent of beginning a conversation about the installation of newborn safety incubators, which are temperature controlled devices that lock and notify authorities as soon as a child is placed inside. These incubators provide a safe and completely anonymous method for a parent to relinquish their child.
This summer, the Legislature will study standards and protocols for these devices, and then report their findings before the General Assembly convenes in 2016. These issues are very sensitive and require a great deal of thoughtful consideration and planning before they become law. I am encouraged that the study committee will thoroughly vet this concept to ensure that the incubators provide a life-saving alternative for parents in desperation.
The introduction of newborn safety incubators, along with targeted awareness of the law, could help curtail newborn abandonments in Indiana. Certainly, we will continue to promote options available to parents in difficult situations before they ever have to consider utilizing a newborn safety incubator. While we might not be able to reach everyone in this difficult situation, we can focus our efforts and look for positive alternatives to abandonment, which could help save a life.
To learn more about HEA 1016 and newborn safety incubators, visit iga.in.gov.
You will tell me what is wrong with Baby Safe Haven law awareness.
There is most definitely something wrong with safe haven laws across the country, and it just keeps getting worse. But because most people can’t put their finger on exactly what the problem is I’m going to ask you, an expert, to point out what the problem is.
To have you tell me what’s wrong we should first take a trip across the US and look at the basic data of the five most experienced and prominent safe haven law awareness centers. Then just maybe the problem will be pinpointed. Lets go west to east.
The first center of major safe haven law awareness activity is Los Angeles, and southern California. This region is one of the worst in the country for newborn abandonments with three to more then five abandonments per year. The average for deadly abandonments is about 50%, which bears out across the country. But So Cal does have an extensive safe haven law, safe surrender campaign. It’s headed by a 70 year old Los Angeles County Supervisor, a regional elected official, who does every single safe surrender baby media availability. He’s seen very consistently in press conferences answering to the many, many newborn abandonments, as well as when he announces safely surrendered babies. He highlights his message as “saving babies.”
One very recent press availability was the dedication of a small park in LA County in his name, and to the more then 100 newborns surrendered under the 15 year old safe surrender law he helped pass. But it seems there have been more newborns abandoned then saved in his region. Those exact statistics haven’t been released.
Lets move east and look at Illinois. Once again the emphasis of the publicity is centered on “saving babies.” It’s also the name of the organization, Save Abandoned Babies. They’ve had just over 100 newborns surrendered under their law, but very recently released statistics that there have been 72 babies abandoned, with 37 deadly abandonments, since the Illinois law passed 14 years ago. Every time you see any media coverage of either an abandonment, or the release of information on newborns safely surrendered, you only see a now 68 year old retiree do every single interview on TV, radio, and in the newspaper story. So Cal and Illinois seem to have the worst rates for newborn abandonments, especially deadly abandonments, if you just do Google searches. And it’s easy to find stories and videos of the leaders of the two safe haven law awareness groups as well.
Moving southeast the next major region is Florida. You see fewer newborn abandonments in this area, but you also see the one person who does all the media appearances. He’s a 70 year old retiree. Just Google Florida safe haven for newborns and you’ll find many links with the 70 year old gentleman on them, as recent as this week on CNN. Once again the emphasis is on saving babies. The statistics that are released show a slightly lower abandonment rate, but the media emphasis by this group and its leader is on the few more newborns they have “saved.”
Time to move north and look at New York. The newborn abandonment rates are still high in Google searches, you also find stories of safely surrendered newborns. But, you also see stories about the regional foundation leader, a 65 year old retired police EMT. He does all the media appearances explaining the safe haven law, the lack of ability in promoting it to the generation who uses it, and the need for more publicity about the law. He also wants to do all the publicity about the law as well — as do his counterparts in LA, IL, and FL in their regions.
Lets move north to Massachusetts. It’s very hard to find recent stories about newborn abandonments. That’s because Massachusetts has only had one in the last 6.5+ years. Massachusetts releases statistics that in fact there has been only three newborn abandonments, one deadly, in the last 8+ years. Their stats show that they used to have an average of 3 per year prior to 2004, and the passage of the Baby Safe Haven law.
Who does the promotional awareness media availabilities? You don’t see any retired police or 60+ year old officials, you only see young people, primarily a now mid-twenty year old young woman who is very prominent in many web searches under Baby Safe Haven — especially video searches. Use their brand name, Baby Safe Haven.
The state boasts proven statistics that they have gone from one of the highest newborn abandonment rates, prior to law passage and implementation of a youth led awareness campaign strategy, to the lowest rates ever recorded in modern times. Simple searches bear out the cause and effect, as well as numerous youth led awareness activities. The emphasis of all Massachusetts campaigns is also very different! It’s always centered on young people helping peers learn about the laws, hotlines and web sites to get help in a time of crisis that could lead to an abandonment. Peer to peer communication with young role models who show that it’s normal to discuss Baby Safe Haven among peers. Never discussion by elder officials about “saving babies.” Seems they want to help young women first, which then always helps the babies they are carrying, or delivering.
Massachusetts has used teen rap singing as TV PSAs that have the highest number of web hits for any video of its type. There are young twenty something comedians that have used the rap song as part of comedy routines, further spreading the name brand and basic law info in a complimentary way. Searches also show a teen/20s rock rave club named “The Baby Safe Haven” that existed in a Boston suburb where large numbers of student housing is in walking/few T bus stop distance away. Seems Massachusetts is a very youth oriented, driven and a very youth accepted awareness campaign.
Other searches across the country, as recently as looking at the last seven days, shows the same patterns. Many, many stories about abandoned newborns, outside of Massachusetts. You also see many, many officials much older then the young people who may be using the safe haven/safe surrender laws. The older officials are doing all the media spokesperson work. The pattern is the same is places like Indiana, South Carolina, New Jersey, Missouri, Connecticut, Michigan, and many, many more states.
So now it’s time for you to tell me what is wrong with safe haven/safe surrender laws.
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Introducing just a few of the young people who will inform their peers.
The originator of the MA campaign with over 100 media coverages for Baby Safe Haven: http://youtu.be/k3dn_DPodPw & http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/bostons-view-singer-renee-marcou/1d0tkt2zp & http://youtu.be/sPl0NOyV4ro & http://www.wickedlocal.com/article/20080921/News/309219734 & http://youtu.be/xAC9QMw27v4
In Los Angeles, one of a few young Asian American female vocalists with charting records in the US. SOTs for TV news use: 1 – http://youtu.be/Nv5nlJzS4yE 2 – http://youtu.be/7hHOI7yajL4
Here’s 16 year old from Wichita, KS, on radio, TV, and front page newspaper coverage: http://youtu.be/npu_8TcIKMk & http://ksn.com/2014/07/01/baby-safe-haven-awareness-campaign/ & http://www.kansas.com/2014/07/05/3540671/wichita-teen-a-spokesperson-for.html
This 20 year old is the only bilingual spokesperson/advocate for any Baby Safe Haven law in the US. In Chicagoland en Espanol: https://soundcloud.com/dtvpro/kiararivera-on-la-ley-1079-chicago & http://youtu.be/5UxXYlfhS2g
18 year old from Danbury, CT, on radio and another front page newspaper stohttp://youtu.be/k3dn_DPodPwry: https://soundcloud.com/dtvpro/despina-drougas-on-98q-baby-safe-haven & http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/A-safe-haven-for-unwanted-babies-5663837.php
16 year old from Tennessee: http://youtu.be/qtmypoHp3Vw
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Mike and Jean Morrisey are at it again, putting personal gain over the saving of lives. Not only are these two the most self-absorbed people I have ever met, they seem to have never ending time to find any article about new and innovative ways to reach young women in horrible circumstances and find ways to criticize, judge, blame and set up their proposal as the only way to reach out! Utter insanity, especially when one of them was accused and investigated for family violence. When will it stop. Thank you, Indiana, for not limiting your compassion to two insane individuals ideas from New England about what is right for your state! Keep saving lives!
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