Safe haven laws and baby boxes: How Tennessee newborns are protected from being abandoned
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court last month, many people don't know what options are available to those who can't care for newborns.
One option is Tennessee's Safe Haven Law. Passed in 2001, mothers can give up their newborn up to 14 days after giving birth at a "safe haven" facility.
The service is confidential and mothers giving up the child are free from prosecution as long as the baby is unharmed and given away within 14 days of being born. The goal is to prevent newborns from being abandoned and to protect parents in crisis.
Following the Dobbs decision, state Sen. Richard Briggs, R-Knoxville, who is also a physician, is renewing his push to create drop-off "baby boxes" at existing safe haven locations.
The idea has sparked some controversy and confusion on social media, but drop-off baby boxes aren't a new concept. Also known as baby hatches, the first modern ones launched in the United States in Indiana in 2016. They are also commonly used in the Czech Republic, Germany, Pakistan and Poland.
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Here's what you need to know about safe haven laws in Tennessee and across the country, and how baby box drop-off works.
What is Tennessee's Safe Haven Law?
The safe haven law was enacted in 2001 after a newborn baby girl died of severe dehydration after her teenage mother left her in a shed in Townsend, Tennessee, in 2000, according to the nonprofit Secret Safe Place for Newborns of Tennessee.
The law allows for mothers to drop off unharmed newborns, 14 days old or younger, to the staff at any the following facilities, provided they are staffed 24 hours:
hospital
birthing center
community health clinic
outpatient “walk-in” clinic
EMS facility
fire station
law enforcement facility
Similar laws exist in every state, although not all of them protect the parents' confidentiality or provide baby boxes for drop-offs. In Tennessee, only the mother can drop off a baby, but Briggs' bill seeks to expand the right to fathers, too.
What happens to the baby?
Newborns are taken to a hospital for a medical examination and then taken to the local Department of Children’s Services office. Babies could be placed in foster care until finding an adoptive family.
How is it confidential?
Police and family members aren't notified after the baby is given to the facility. According to the law, the mother doesn't have to provide any information about herself or the child. If the mother does provide information, it is only disclosed to the Department of Children's Services.
How many babies have been surrendered?
Secret Safe Place for Newborns of Tennessee says more than 100 babies have been surrendered to facilities in Tennessee since the law was enacted.
What are safe haven baby boxes?
These drop-off boxes are temperature-controlled bins permanently installed in the outside wall of a fire station, hospital or other safe haven drop-off location. The public-facing door automatically locks after a newborn is placed inside. A door inside the building opens, allowing medical staff to take care of the baby. The boxes can cost thousands to install.
Where are these boxes?
Right now, Tennessee doesn't have any baby boxes. According to Safe Haven Baby Boxes, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Maine, Missouri, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Pennsylvania all have boxes.
There are 112 active baby boxes in the United States, according to Safe Haven Baby Boxes Inc.
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Are baby boxes coming to Tennessee?
They could be. Briggs' Safe Haven Baby Box Bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee in May, amended the Safe Haven Law to allow (but not mandate) safe haven facilities to install newborn drop-off boxes and create standards for those baby boxes.
While there aren't any baby boxes in Tennessee at the moment, the amended law allows safe haven facilities to install them.
NOTE: A previous version of this article mentioned a bill that stalled in committee. Another version of the bill passed the Tennessee State Legislature and was signed by Gov. Bill Lee. This has been corrected.
Becca Wright: Higher education reporter at Knox News
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee safe haven laws and baby boxes: How newborns are protected
