As we reported at the end of January, Morgantown will receive West Virginia’s second “baby box” as part of the Norwood Fire Station’s renovations. The baby box will be built into an exterior wall, with doors that allow it to be opened from both inside and outside the firehouse. A parent or appointed representative can anonymously place an infant less than 30 days old inside the box; once the box closes, the exterior door locks and an alarm is sounded inside the building to alert staff. From there, the baby will be taken into custody and provided any medical care it may need.
The baby box coming to Morgantown and the one already in place in Moundsville are part of a revision to the safe haven law West Virginia adopted last year. Most hospitals and health care centers are considered safe havens or safe surrender sites, where infants can be safely surrendered (hence the name) to medical staff. West Virginia has now joined several other states in designating fire departments that are staffed 24/7 as additional safe haven sites, and the baby box is an extension of that.
“Safe haven” or “Baby Moses” laws started in 1999 in Texas as an alternative to abandonment, after several newborns were found deceased around Houston within a short time. Abandonment — specifically, leaving behind an infant in an unsafe condition or environment — hasn’t been common, but safe haven laws helped bring those numbers down further. According to the National Safe Haven Alliance, between 1999 and 2018, around 3,500 infants were surrendered at safe have sites but 1,400 were unsafely abandoned.
The purpose of these laws is to allow a parent, or parents, to safely and (usually) anonymously turn infants over to health care professionals, thereby relinquishing their rights and responsibilities but without threat of criminal prosecution. Baby boxes add another dimension to the anonymous surrender, hopefully offering an option to those who fear a face-to-face interaction with hospital or fire department staff.
There are arguments against baby boxes and safe surrender. Some argue that baby boxes are part of a pro-life agenda that offers a seemingly valid option other than abortion. (As we’ve discussed before, there are many reasons for wanting or needing an abortion and carrying to term is not always an option; ultimately, that decision should be between a woman and her health care provider.) Others argue that allowing anonymous surrender is unduly cruel to the child, who will unlikely have the chance to find their birth family later in life.
We think safe surrender is overall a good thing, and the baby box is a natural extension of safe havens. That said, it isn’t a replacement for a woman’s right to direct her own reproductive health care. But in a state and a country where women’s options regarding pregnancy, birth and their own reproductive care are sadly decreasing, we support anything that gives them more choices.
