A second baby has been surrendered to Alabama’s first Safe Haven Baby Box, the City of Madison announced Wednesday.
Madison Fire and Rescue received the second infant through its baby box located at Fire Station #1, News19 reported. The baby was assessed and transported to Madison Hospital for further evaluation, according to the city.
The Alabama Department of Human Resources has also been notified, the city said.
Alabama’s first baby box in Madison was used for the first time less than two weeks after it opened on January 10.
Image shows an example of a Safe Haven Baby Box, seen on February 10, 2023, in Bowling Green, Kentucky (Grace Ramey/Daily News via AP)
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 outside, 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. 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.
An organization called Kids to Love spearheaded a bill that passed the Alabama legislature in 2023, allowing baby boxes to be installed in the state. It also expanded the state’s Safe Haven law, allowing mothers to surrender their child up to 45 days instead of 72 hours.
More baby boxes are coming to Alabama, including in Prattville, Gadsden, Tuscaloosa, and Opelika, according to the organization.
