The television show Chicago Fire recently came under fire, no pun intended, by the Chicago Fire Department (CFD) after a recent episode depicting the use of a Baby Box in the show’s fire station. A Baby Box is a safety device that allows a parent to place a newborn into it and anonymously surrender the child under The Abandoned Newborn Protection Act, more commonly referred to as the Safe Haven law. The problem is, CFD does not use Baby Boxes as the State of Illinois requires a person-to-person surrender.
Generally, Safe Haven laws allow a parent, or designated agent, to surrender an uninjured baby to a designated individual within a specified time frame. The time allowed can range from 72 hours up to one year. If the person meets the expectations, there is no fear of legal repercussions. These laws were enacted to counter the increase in abandonment and infanticide cases. Texas became the first state to pass this type of legislation in 1999 and now Safe Haven laws exist in all 50 states, and as you might expect the laws do vary from state-to-state.
The concern over the episode is that someone may have watched it, and now thinks that he or she can simply drop that baby off at a Chicago fire station. Not only is that not meeting the legal expectations of the State’s Safe Haven law it puts the child at risk of injury or death. Dawn Geras, of the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation, is not a fan of the baby box as the interaction between the parent and the designated official may lead to getting the parent needed support. Geras stated that in almost 30% of Safe Haven cases the mom accepts the help that is offered to her. And while some of those moms end up keeping the child others will opt for traditional adoption services.
Another argument against faceless drop offs comes from a case out of New Orleans last year. A baby was found deceased in a duffel bag at a firehouse that is not staffed 24 hours a day. And in this instance the building was actually used for “air maintenance and air supply.” No one knows if the person tried to make any kind of notification prior to leaving the baby. CFD also cited a local case that someone tried to leave a child at a station backdoor that was unattended. Thankfully, someone say the person through a window and came to get the baby.
As of 2021, 143 babies have been surrendered to an approved Safe Haven site, while at the same time 87 babies were abandoned and 51% of the died.
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References:
Safe Haven Baby Boxes. (2020). Retrieved from https://shbb.org/#:~:text=A%20Baby%20Box%20is%20a,designated%20fire%20station%20or%20hospital.
Turner, T. & Rosenberg-Douglas, K. (2022, Jan. 16). Newborn boy found dead in a duffel bag Saturday was left outside a barely staffed fire station. It’s exactly the outcome the Safe Haven Law was meant to prevent. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-safe-haven-law-fire-station-drop-off-20220116-gutn673i5bbevhj62ybfqzkszm-story.html.
USLegal.com. (2023). Safe Haven Laws and Legal Definition. Retrieved from https://definitions.uslegal.com/s/safe-haven-laws/.
