Georgia lawmakers passed a bill that would expand the state’s Safe Haven law to allow baby box devices.
Both the Georgia House and Senate passed House Bill 350 last week, 164-4 and 49-1, and sent the bill to Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R) desk, Local 3 News reported. If Kemp signs the bill, Georgia will join two dozen other states in allowing the devices as an option for the safe and legal surrender of newborns.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes were created to deter parents from abandoning their newborns, potentially leaving them to die. Baby boxes are temperature-controlled incubators often built into exterior walls of fire stations, police stations, and hospitals, and can be accessed from inside. At-risk mothers can safely and legally place their newborns inside. Then, the outside door locks, and mothers have time to get away before an alarm goes off, alerting first responders or hospital staff inside.
The baby is then quickly removed and sent to a hospital for a wellness check. From there, the baby is usually placed into state custody and often quickly adopted.
READ MORE: Another Newborn Surrendered to Tennessee Safe Haven Baby Box
Safe Haven Baby Boxes are usually community-funded and are legalized by legislation that expands existing Safe Haven laws, which every state has.
Republican State Rep. Mike Cameron of Georgia’s 1st District is sponsoring the bill, which is also called the “Eliza Jane Warner Act,” WTOC11 reported. The bill is named after a Georgia newborn whose mother abandoned her in a cooler on the side of a road in Troup County in 2019, resulting in her death. Her mother, Caroline Riley Propes, was sentenced to more than two decades behind bars in 2021.
According to the report, Eliza Jane’s grandmother gave an emotional testimony in favor of the bill during a hearing on the legislation, shaping lawmakers’ decision to name the section of the code in the newborn’s honor.
“We might not have been able to save Eliza Jane, we don’t know, but there are other Eliza Janes out there that we can save if we put these safety devices in place,” Cameron said.
For now, Georgia’s Safe Haven law allows the legal face-to-face surrender of unharmed newborns up to 30 days after birth to hospitals, fire stations, and police stations, according to the Safe Haven Baby Boxes organization.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes launched nine years ago in Indiana and has expanded nationwide with at least 425 locations. More than 70 newborns have been surrendered to baby boxes across the United States, according to the organization. Safe Haven Baby Boxes also says it has assisted at least 150 people with safe surrenders to other safe haven locations.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes has a confidential National Safe Haven Hotline, 1-866-99BABY1, that provides free counseling and information about safe surrenders, including face-to-face surrenders.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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