Safe Haven Baby Box is a public-interest group based in Indiana, USA, founded by Ms. Monica Kelsey. The Safe Haven Baby Box operates baby boxes in two fire departments in Indiana. Ms. Kelsey was abandoned as a newborn after being conceived by rape. She made it her personal mission to fight infant abandonment and save the lives of innocent babies.
Safe Haven Baby Box educates people about the Safe Haven Laws. This law has been established to permit mothers in need to surrender their babies anonymously to fire departments, police offices or hospitals. Safe Haven Baby Boxes are the places to which mothers can safely entrust their babies. To keep babies safe and healthy, each baby box is equipped with an air conditioner and a silent warning system that notifies the emergency medical institution of the arrival of babies. Once the baby box is opened and the alert is set off, staff arrives at the box within five minutes to take care of the baby.
Besides setting up Safe Haven Baby Boxes, Ms. Kelsey serves as a fire department member and public speaker. Starting in the United States, she travels around the world to give lectures on her own experience, the importance of protecting newborn lives and the places to which mothers can entrust their babies safely and anonymously.
The number of unmarried mothers has been increasing, and the percentage of nonmarital births rose from 12% in 1989 to 41.2% in 2016. In 2014, the number of births by unmarried mothers was 1.6 million out of 4.5 million births. In 2016, approximately 893,000 abortions took place in the U.S.
The Safe Haven Law enacted in 1999 is now established in all states of America and the District of Columbia. Relinquishing newborns unconditionally to safe shelters (Safe Haven) is legalized by law. Safe havens are set up in fire departments, police offices, hospitals and the like. From 1999 to 2017, a total of 3,317 newborns were entrusted to safe havens.
Even though mothers can safely surrender their babies to a safe shelter under the law, even now babies get abandoned. So Ms. Monica Kelsey introduced the baby box based on practices in Cape Town, South Africa.
As of 2018, Ms. Kelsey runs baby boxes in three U.S. States. Although she faces criticism like the “Right to Know One’s Origins” or “Mothers with post-partum problems find it difficult to undergo treatment”, she continues her mission to run baby boxes in all 50 states by 2025.
※This video is excerpted from THE 14th ASIAN CONGRESS OF HEALTH PROMOTION IN KUMAMOTO, JAPAN.
| Speaker | ：Monica Kelsey |
|---|---|
| Event | ：THE 14th ASIAN CONGRESS OF HEALTH PROMOTION IN KUMAMOTO, JAPAN |
| Date | ：April 14, 2018 |
