Alaska Senate Passes Bill to Allow Safe Haven Baby Boxes

The Alaska Senate passed a bill that would allow devices designed to prevent infant abandonment in the state.

The Alaska Senate advanced the bill, which would legalize Safe Haven Baby Boxes, on an 18-2 vote. Sens. Bert Stedman, a Sitka Republican, and Löki Tobin, an Anchorage Democrat, voted no, the Alaska Beacon reported on Tuesday.

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.

Alaska has had its Safe Haven law since 2008, which allows for the in-person surrender of newborns up to 21 days old to fire stations, hospitals, and police officers. (Read more from “Alaska Senate Passes Bill to Allow Safe Haven Baby Boxes” HERE)

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