An infant was surrendered to a Safe Haven Baby Box at a firehouse in Ohio in mid-January, officials said.
The baby, who was under 30 days old, was anonymously left at the baby box located at the Delhi Township Firehouse on Neeb Road, Fox19 reported. The surrender is the first time the baby box at that location has been used since it was installed in 2022.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey said the device was “built for this exact purpose: to give mothers in crisis a safe, anonymous, judgment-free option when they feel they have none.”
“This mother’s decision was selfless, an act of pure love. She chose life. She chose safety. She chose hope,” she said.
Baby boxes were created to deter parents from abandoning their newborns in unsafe conditions, potentially leaving them to die. Baby boxes are temperature-controlled incubators often built into exterior walls of fire stations, police stations, and hospitals that can be accessed from inside. At-risk mothers can safely and legally place their newborns inside. Once the baby is inside the baby box the outside door locks and the mother has time to leave before an alarm goes off alerting first responders or hospital staff to the child’s presence.
The baby is then quickly removed and sent to a hospital for a wellness check. From there, the infant is usually placed into state custody and is often adopted quickly.
The organization launched nine years ago in Indiana and has expanded nationwide with at least 400 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 150 people with safe surrenders to other safe haven locations.
The baby surrendered in Ohio was quickly transported to Children’s Hospital for evaluation and is now in the custody of Job and Family Services, which is looking for a permanent adoptive home, the report states, citing the Delhi Township.
“The district officer was happy to be a part of it,” Delhi Township Fire Lt. Kevin Kraemer said. “It’s kind of one of those things that, I don’t know if bitter-sweet is the word, but we’re happy that this parent trusted us.”
In Ohio, unharmed infants up to 30 days old may be legally surrendered to baby boxes, hospitals, fire stations, police stations, and EMS providers, according to the organization.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes also 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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