Miscellaneous

Sweet Haven

By Anne Skove, Esq.

Remember safe haven laws? Still around in most jurisdictions, these laws were all the rage about a decade ago. Their drafters promised great things: a decrease in child abuse, increase in child safety, and a decrease in abandoned and/or murdered babies, and (perhaps, though these goals often went unspoken) an increased number of adoptable children/decrease in abortions.

The idea was as old as Moses. In fact, the idea came from Moses! Safe haven laws allow a parent (or, in Moses's case, older sister) to deposit an infant at a safe haven, usually a hospital, no questions asked and no charges filed.

The concept gained momentum after a few high-profile stories about high schoolers who somehow faked non-pregnancy for 9 months, gave birth on prom night, and stuffed the unwanted child into the nearest dumpster. If only they had a safe place, the thinking went, these crimes would go away. Decriminalize abandonment, save a child.

Did the laws work as intended? There is no national data on the number of abandoned children. It could be that the horror stories made headlines because they were so rare. Thus, no decrease would be discernible. It's hard to say whether a parent who leaves a baby in a safe haven would consider a dumpster as an alternative -- surely, most do not. Rather, the alternative might be to keep the baby, give it up for adoption, or have relatives care for it. So, it's hard to compare what surrendering parents would have done if not for the safe haven.

The Dickensian tale of a Nebraska widower, the father of ten children, who left nine of his brood on various hospital doorsteps, has safe havenists talking. Is this what the laws were supposed to do? Proponents had envisioned cute babies in baskets, not scraggly teenagers. The National Safe Haven Alliance says it "is dedicated to support states' efforts to prevent infanticide and unsafe newborn abandonment through safe-haven relinquishments." Most laws do specify infants of a very young (say, 5 days) age.

These laws were drafted in better times, during the economic boom of the 90s. The first such law was enacted in Texas in 1999; most states followed soon after. Today, families struggle more as the financial picture tanks, one parent is sent overseas, elderly relatives require more help, abortions are down, unemployment is up, and health care is slashed by companies in dire straits.

At the time they were first enacted, safe haven laws were little-known and, hence, little-used. One of the great challenges was to publicize the existence of the laws. Looks like the secret is out. Now the question is: who is a child? Do safe haven laws have to be about babies, or are tweens and teens welcome, too?

Back to the drawing board...either to more strictly define "child," or (one hopes) to broaden the concept and provide yet more alternatives.

See Neb. Lawmakers Consider Revising Safe-Haven Law, Timberly Ross, AP (September 25, 2008), and Infant Safe Haven Laws, Child Welfare Information Gateway (July 2007).

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on September 27, 2008 (boomark / email).