Indiana HB1016 UPDATED and SB123

House Bill 1016:”Newborn safety incubators. Requires that a qualified service provider that installs and operates a newborn safety incubator comply with the standards and protocols adopted by the department of health (state department). Requires the state department to adopt rules concerning the installation and operation of newborn safety incubators. Provides that a qualified service provider that operates a newborn safety incubator must register with the state department. Establishes requirements for a qualified service provider. Makes it a Class A misdemeanor for a person to knowingly or intentionally install or operate a newborn safety incubator without meeting the standards and protocols, and a Level 6 felony if the offense results in bodily injury to a newborn. Provides that a person who leaves a newborn in a newborn safety incubator is not obligated to disclose the parent’s name or person’s name. Makes it a Class A misdemeanor for a person to knowingly or intentionally place: (1) any item, with exceptions; or (2) an individual other than a newborn; in a newborn safety incubator.”

“On the outside, the metal box looks like an oversized bread container. But what’s inside could save an abandoned newborn’s life.

The box is actually a newborn incubator, or baby box, and it could be showing up soon at Indiana hospitals, fire stations, churches and selected nonprofits under legislation that would give mothers in crisis a way to surrender their children safely and anonymously.

Indiana could be the first state to allow use of the baby boxes on a broad scale to prevent dangerous abandonments of infants if the bill, which unanimously passed the House this week, clears the state Senate. Republican state Rep. Casey Cox and child-safety advocates say they’re unaware of any other states that have considered the issue at the level Indiana has.

Cox says his bill is a natural progression of the “safe haven” laws that exist in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Those give parents a legal way to surrender newborns at hospitals, police stations and other facilities without fear of prosecution so long as the child hasn’t been harmed.

Many children, however, never make it that far. Dawn Geras, president of the Save the Abandoned Babies Foundation in Chicago, said safe haven laws have resulted in more than 2,800 safe surrenders since 1999. But more than 1,400 other children have been found illegally abandoned, nearly two-thirds of whom died.

Cox said his proposal draws on a centuries-old concept to help “those children that are left in the woods, those children that are abandoned in dangerous places.”

Baby boxes, known in some countries as baby hatches or angel cradles, originated in medieval times, when convents were equipped with revolving doors known as “foundling wheels.” Unwanted infants were placed in compartments in the doors, which were then rotated to get the infant inside.

Hundreds of children have been surrendered in modern-day versions in place in Europe and Asia. The devices are even the subject of a new documentary titled “The Drop Box,” which chronicles the efforts of a pastor in Seoul, South Korea, to address child abandonment.

Supporters contend the boxes can save lives by offering women who can’t face relinquishing a child in person a safe and anonymous alternative to abandonment or infanticide.

But critics say the boxes make it easier to abandon a child without exploring other options and contend they do nothing to address poverty and other societal issues that contribute to unwanted babies. Some baby hatches in China have been so overwhelmed by abandonments in recent years that local officials have restricted their use or closed them.

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has called for a ban on the boxes in Europe and has urged countries to provide family planning and other support to address the root causes of abandonments, according to spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell.

Whether the U.S. is ready for the boxes is a matter of debate. Geras said many parents who surrender their children at safe haven sites need medical care that they won’t get if they leave the baby in a box. Handing the child to a trained professional also provides an opportunity to determine whether the mother simply needs financial support or other help to develop a parenting plan.

“If you use a baby box, you have stripped away that option,” Geras said. “There’s a lot of things that need to be done to improve safe haven laws throughout the country, but that’s not one of them.”

A better approach, she said, is for states to spend more money to promote their existing laws.”

Indiana may install ‘baby boxes’ for those giving up newborns[Chicago Tribune 2/27/15 by Associated Press]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

 

Update: “Safe haven groups across the U.S. are criticizing an Indiana proposal to allow “baby boxes” at hospitals, fire stations and churches so new mothers in crisis could surrender their children anonymously.

At least three groups have spoken out against the proposal that would make the boxes an option under Indiana’s existing safe haven law. They say the state should do more to promote its existing law instead.

Supporters say the boxes would supplement the safe haven law and would target women who might otherwise abandon their babies in unsafe locations.

The bill passed the Indiana House unanimously last week, but its Senate fate is unclear. Senate Health Committee chairwoman Patricia Miller says she has concerns and is still deciding whether her committee will take it up in the coming weeks.”

Indiana Senate takes cautious approach to ‘baby box’ bill[WTHR 3/6/15 by /Jeni O’Malley /Associated Press]

Update 2: “The Indiana Senate has approved a bill calling for additional study on the possibility of setting up “baby boxes” for women to anonymously surrender their newborns.

Senators voted unanimously Tuesday to call on agencies including the Indiana State Health Department to review questions about the use of the boxes, awareness programs for Indiana’s current safe haven program, and laws regarding emergency custody of abandoned children.

The safe haven law allows unharmed newborns to be surrendered at places including hospitals and fire stations without fear of prosecution. Supporters of the baby boxes proposed them as a last resort for those unwilling to surrender a child in person.

The study findings are to be finished before next year’s legislative session. House approval is still needed for the bill.”

Indiana Senate approves study of ‘baby boxes’ proposal[WTHR 4/7/15 by Associated Press]

Update 3:“The state’s first Safe Haven Baby Box will be dedicated Tuesday at the Woodburn Fire Station in Woodburn, Indiana. A second one will be revealed Thursday at the Coolspring Township Fire Department near Michigan City.

These are the fist [sic] Safe Haven Baby Boxes deployed in the United States.

The Safe Haven Baby Box is designed to save abandoned babies at fire stations that are not manned with personnel around the clock.

The box is electronically monitored and is designed to allow a mother or father in distress to place an unharmed, newborn infant in a secure and safe baby box. A series of alarms will alert emergency personnel who will then respond to the fire station, pick up the infant and transport the child to a local emergency room.

Indiana’s Safe Haven Law allows someone to give up an unwanted infant anonymously without fear of arrest or prosecution. The baby must be less than 30 days old and can be given up at an Indiana hospital, fire station or police station.

Several babies have recently been given up in Indianapolis under the state’s Safe Haven Law.

A man dropped off a day-old baby at a west Indianapolis fire stationin early March. Less than two weeks later, another baby was dropped off at an IFD station.”

Here is the law: http://www.in.gov/dcs/2915.htm .

Nation’s first Safe Haven Baby Box to be dedicated Tuesday in Indiana [WTHR 4/26/16]

Update 4:“State senators Erin Houchin, R-Salem, and Travis Holdman, R-Markle, announced the introduction of Senate Bill 123 on Wednesday which would expand the availability of newborn safety incubators, commonly referred to as “baby boxes.”

Keeping with Indiana’s Safe Haven law, Houchin joined Holdman in co-authoring SB 123 to expand the use of baby boxes in Indiana by allowing fire departments staffed on a 24 hour basis to install baby boxes.

Baby boxes are safety incubators where mothers can anonymously surrender their newborn babies.

The padded, climate-controlled containers are installed on an exterior wall of a fire station.

The boxes are equipped with a security system that notifies emergency personnel when a baby is dropped off. Emergency responders can get to the child within minutes.

Currently, there are only two in Indiana. Expanding this program is voluntary, allowing each fire department to make the decision whether or not to install these boxes.

The Indiana Safe Haven Law enables a person to give up an unwanted infant anonymously without fear of arrest or prosecution if surrendered at a hospital or a site staffed by an emergency medical services provider.

Under the Safe Haven law, the Indiana Department of Child Services takes abandoned infants into custody through Child Protective Services and places the child with a caregiver.

“In circumstances where parents feel they cannot care for their newborn, while we would prefer for the child to be placed into the arms of another individual, these baby boxes can protect infants from in many cases what could otherwise be fatal circumstances,” said Houchin. “By ensuring these mothers have a safe, anonymous way to surrender their child, this option will reinforce our commitment to the well-being of children throughout Indiana.”

“Baby boxes allow women to give their baby a chance for a better life,” added Holdman. “Encouraging fire departments that are staffed 24/7 to have baby boxes will positively benefit more infants’ lives by increasing the number of locations baby boxes can be installed.”

On Nov. 7, a baby was placed in one of the Safe Haven baby boxes in Michigan City, and was recently adopted.

Houchin was first elected to the Indiana Senate in 2014, and represents Crawford, Orange, Harrison, Perry and Washington counties, and eastern Dubois County. ”

Houchin co-authors bill to expand use of ‘baby boxes’

[Dubois County Herald 1/4/18]