Drop babies off for adoption at KC firehouses? Council will consider drop-box proposal
Rather than seek an abortion, parents who want or need to give their newborns up for adoption anonymously could surrender their babies at climate-controlled boxes installed at Kansas City fire stations under a proposal introduced Thursday by 1st District Councilman Nathan Willett.
Willett's resolution would instruct the city manager to study what it would take to begin a 'Safe Haven Baby Boxes' program. Mayor Quinton Lucas referred it to a council committee for further study, which is typical procedure.
After study, that committee could refer the resolution to the full council for a vote. But there's no guarantee of that. Some proposals are held off docket indefinitely.
Since 1999, all 50 states have enacted laws that allow parents to give their babies up for adoption anonymously. These safe haven laws allow parents to relinquish their parental rights within a time limit — up to a year after birth in some cases — that differs state to state, according to the National Safe Haven Alliance.
Safe haven laws have been tweaked in many states, including Missouri and Kansas, allowing parents to surrender their babies by placing them in climate-controlled bassinets at police and fire stations as well as health care facilities and other designated places. The boxes have automatic alert functions that contact emergency responders when a child is left inside so they can be retrieved quickly.
Many baby boxes are marketed by a nonprofit company called Safe Haven Baby Boxes Inc., which has more than 300 boxes deployed across the country.
Six of those boxes are in Missouri: One each in Carthage, Joplin and Savannah and three in the St. Louis metro area. Kansas has two, in Salina and Hutchinson.
Last year, a baby was surrendered in the box at the Mehlville Fire Protection District station in south St. Louis. No babies have been surrendered at those seven other boxes in Missouri and Kansas.
Nationwide, 58 babies have been surrendered since the first box was installed in April 2016, according to a spokesperson for Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
According to the company, babies left in the boxes are never in danger because the boxes have multiple alarms that alert first responders as soon as a baby is placed inside. There are no cameras to record who left the child.
'The boxes' alarms are tested weekly to ensure there will be no failures. None of these alarm systems have ever failed,' the company's website said.
Each box costs $15,000 to $20,000 to lease and install. That is typically underwritten entirely by private donations, the company spokesperson said.
Willett's proposed resolution would direct the city manager to identify which fire stations would be able to support a Safe Haven Baby Box, how many would be appropriate to install and how much it would cost.
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The conservative movement for anonymous infant relinquishment and supporters of Safe Haven Baby Boxes ignore this history and create a system that makes it difficult—if not impossible—for child and parent to ever learn the truth about one another. Babies surreptitiously left in such drop boxes will likely never have accurate birth certificates, and relinquishing parents swiftly lose their parental rights and any chance of legally reclaiming or reconnecting with their children. History has already taught us the harms of withholding self-knowledge and the possibility of reunification. It is past time we learn these lessons. Kristen Martin is the author of The Sun Won't Come Out Tomorrow: The Dark History of American Orphanhood. Made by History takes readers beyond the headlines with articles written and edited by professional historians. Learn more about Made by History at TIME here. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors. Write to Made by History at madebyhistory@
