If Someone Leaves a Baby on Your Doorstep Can You Keep It

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A mother left her hours-old baby on a doorstep of someone's home.

A newborn was found at an apartment complex two years after a different newborn was abandoned there was well.

Twins were left at a strip mall where one died.

Stories like these are constant.

But newborn babies don't have to be deserted in locations where they're susceptible to the elements and could possibly end up dead.Still, year after year, they are.

Every state has a Safe Haven law, which means there are ways for a person to safely relinquish a unharmed newborn baby without any risk of persecution. The laws aren't the same in every sate, so it's important to check each state for details.

Here's some things you probably didn't know about Safe Haven laws.

Safe Havens are not completely anonymous

While Safe Haven laws generally allow parents to remain anonymous, meaning some states won't compel them to reveal their identity, it's still not completely anonymous.

"The law has been around for 20 years and says that you can walk into any hospital and surrender your baby anonymously no questions asked, that's not accurate," said Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes and an abandoned child herself. She added that some moms don't want the face-to-face interaction of having to hand their baby over to someone.

Kelsey cited two cases in Bowling Green, Ky. and Lake Charles, Las where two moms went to a fire station and a hospital, respectively, and left their kids right outside. She said this was most likely due to the fact that the parents didn't want to have to interact with anyone.

Despite how close you get to the relinquishing station, if you don't hand your baby over to a person, it's considered abandonment, Kelsey said.

Safe Haven laws aren't just for mothers

While we mostly hear of mothers abandoning their child, fathers are not exempt from this practice.

According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, dads, moms, legal guardians or someone who has the parents' permission can give the child up at a Safe Haven location. This all depends on the state in which you reside.

However, most states' Safe Haven laws are for both the mother and father.

Relinquishing parents are often left with no other choice

"I don't believe that a mother would carry a child for nine months and place her child in an unsafe place because she wants to," Kelsey said. "I think that a mother carries her child for nine months and is in a crisis mode and freaks out and doesn't know what to do."

She added that they were perhaps in a bad situation, see no way out and end up panicking.

To combat this, Kelsey said it's important to provide moms with the proper resources and information prior to this crisis occurring so that they're aware of their options.

Some states have Safe Haven Baby Boxes that are completely anonymous

To combat the anonymity problem, Kelsey came up with the idea for Safe Haven Baby Boxes which provide 100% anonymity.

The boxes, typically installed at a fire station or hospital, are devices people can use to surrender their babies. Once they open the box, it triggers an alarm alerting personnel that a baby needs to be picked up. The box has cooling and heating features to keep the child safe until someone arrives within less than three minutes.

She added that there are no cameras around the box, so there's no fear of being recorded.

The baby boxes launched in Indiana in 2016, and according to Kelsey the state has had zero babies die from abandonment since then.

Safe Haven Baby Boxes also has a 24-hour hotline (1-866-99BABY1) that women in need can call.

Safe Haven laws protect babies and the person relinquishing them

The general rule is that if a parent drops an unharmed newborn off at a designated Safe Haven location and hands the child over to someone, that parent will be free to go.

However, the laws do vary from state to state.

"Approximately 34 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico do not prosecute a parent for child abandonment when a baby is relinquished to a Safe Haven," the child welfare government website states. "In 16 states, safe relinquishment of the infant is an affirmative defense in any prosecution of the parent or his/her agent for any crime against the child, such as abandonment, neglect, or child endangerment."

A parent may be asked to voluntarily fill out paperwork on the child's medical history or anything that is pertinent for the Safe Haven location to know, but once the child is deemed unharmed, the parent can leave.

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If Someone Leaves a Baby on Your Doorstep Can You Keep It

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/parenting/2019/09/13/safe-haven-laws-things-you-didnt-know-surrendering-newborn/2031516001/

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