A baby was surrendered at a Safe Haven Baby Box in Mississippi last week, marking the second infant surrender in the state utilizing a baby box.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- An infant was surrendered at a Safe Haven Baby Box at Simpson General Hospital, marking the second time a box was utilized in the state this year.
- Safe Haven Baby Boxes allow for safe, anonymous infant surrender per each state’s safe haven laws.
- Safe haven laws and the surrender boxes are designed to prevent infant abandonment.
THE DETAILS
According to WAPT, the surrender happened at Simpson General Hospital’s Safe Haven Baby Box in Mendenhall. The child was surrendered in a box provided by the Safe Haven Baby Box organization, which offers temperature-controlled boxes at designated locations to allow parents who feel unable to care for an infant to anonymously surrender that infant. When the child is placed inside, a silent alarm is triggered, alerting first responders who attend to the infant within minutes.
Each state has a safe haven law, and Mississippi’s law allows infants up to 45 days to be surrendered anonymously without repercussions for the parents. The state currently has five Safe Haven Baby Boxes, and there are more than 340 such boxes nationwide.
READ: The anti-life ‘elitists’ fighting to destroy safe haven laws and baby boxes
The infant’s surrender marks the second in the state utilizing a Safe Haven Baby Box this year; Simpson General’s box was installed in January 2024.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, said the organization’s baby boxes are meant to curtail often deadly infant abandonments.
“When communities are prepared for anonymous surrender, we can radically change the outcome,” she said. “We can avoid deadly abandonments for the infant and a life of prison for the mother. This mother was selfless. We know these are not light decisions and this infant will soon be adopted by a family praying for a child. Safe surrender truly makes light out of a heavy situation.”
