Indiana’s mooted baby box system sparks controversy

It could easily be mistaken for a mailbox, except that one side of it is riddled with air holes. It’s a “baby box” - for parents who wish to anonymously give up their newborns. Indiana could be the first US state to install them, but the plan is facing stiff opposition from those who say it could keep the mother from receiving needed medical care. Indiana already has a Safe Haven law allowing parents to anonymously leave their children at a hospital, fire station or police station. The law’s proponents promise that the boxes will be climate-controlled, and be equipped with an alarm system so that the abandoned baby can quickly receive care. State representative Casey Cox, who drafted baby box legislation that was passed by the Indiana House of Representatives and awaits a vote in the state Senate, said his proposed baby boxes are an “alternative to abandonment and abortion”.

No shame, no blame, no names.

Monica Kelsey, a firefighter and medic who heads Safe Haven Baby Boxes

"Baby boxes remove the chance for a mother to be offered medical care and supportive services," said Dawn Geras, the president of Save Abandoned Babies, which is based in neighboring Illinois. "About 25 percent of parents who come to a safe haven, initially planning to use the Safe Haven law, when given the opportunity to talk about options, chose to either make an adoption or parenting plan," she added. According to Geras, "safe haven" laws passed across the country since 1999 have helped save some 2,866 babies, including 1,324 that were abandoned. Laury Oaks, who chairs the Department of Feminist Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara, says instead of heralding baby boxes as a solution, governments should attack the underlying problems. The United Nations has also expressed concern over the baby box practice, and asserted a child’s right to know its origins.

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