Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that overturned abortion rights established by Roe v. Wade, the state of Indiana is installing more boxes for newborn babies to be anonymously dropped off, according to WFYI.
Most of the baby boxes are installed on the side of a fire station, sometimes even at a hospital, and are often funded by private church donations. The boxes are also electronically monitored and temperature controlled for safety.
On July 30, Indiana state senators passed a near-total abortion ban with a 26-20 vote, according to The Associated Press.
"The bill would prohibit abortions from the time a fertilized egg implants in a uterus," according to the AP. "Exceptions would be allowed in cases of rape and incest, but a patient seeking an abortion for either reason would have to sign a notarized affidavit attesting to the attack."
WFYI's Jill Sheridan spoke to NPR about Indiana's effort to increase the number of baby boxes throughout the state. She explained how she first learned about the concept at a small church in South Africa with Monica Kelsey, who founded the Safe Haven Baby Box organization in 2016.
"The idea of a box where a baby could be safely and anonymously surrendered is centuries old," Sheridan said. "Kelsey opened the first U.S. box in the small town of Woodburn, Ind., in 2016. Now there are 113 boxes across the country, 86 of them in Indiana. Today's boxes are temperature controlled, alarm activated, safety incubators installed in the side of firehouses or hospitals."
There has been an increase in surrenders this year, including three in the last four months at the Carmel, Indiana fire station. Sheridan went on to explain how Kelsey was met with opposition from Indiana's Department of Child Services when she brought forward the idea in 2016.
"Kelsey, a firefighter who was also abandoned as a baby, persisted," Sheridan said. "In 2017, the state's Safe Haven Law was amended to include baby boxes."
The Safe Haven Law in Indiana "enables a person to give up an unwanted infant anonymously without fear of arrest or prosecution" within 30 days of birth as long as there aren't signs of intentional abuse, according to the Indiana Department of Child Services.
Carmel Fire Chief David Haboush said that the baby boxes have prevented first responders from having to go search for a missing baby, and added that he and other firefighters are more than willing to help take care of any newborn that's dropped off.
"Through this additional doorway into the fire station for them to drop the baby off than for us to go out and search for a missing baby or - and we can fill in the blank on many horrific things that have happened prior to the Safe Haven Program here in the state of Indiana," Haboush said.
"This is an opportunity for us to take care of another human being. And it will be exciting to see, if the families allow us, what place in history these people, these human beings that are be entrusted to the firefighters, to see where they end up," Haboush added.
Sheridan added that the Safe Haven Baby Box organization plans to install dozens of more boxes throughout six states this year, including Ohio, Florida and New Mexico.
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