About 50 years ago, a 17-year-old girl was raped and left alongside the road, later learning she was pregnant. After giving birth, that teen abandoned her baby.
That child was Monica Kelsey, the CEO and Founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
Kelsey’s passion to help moms in crisis today is fueled by her past.
“I stand on the front lines of this movement as one of these kids that wasn’t lovingly and safely and anonymously placed in a Safe Haven baby box,” Kelsey said.
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A baby box is a safety device that legally permits a mom to surrender their newborn anonymously.
It’s installed in the exterior of a wall at a designated fire station or hospital.
The door automatically locks when a baby is placed inside and allows a staff member on the other side to grab the child.
Kelsey is working with Florida leaders to bring more boxes here, especially since the six-week abortion ban passed.
“If you’re going to pass a six-week abortion ban, you better give more options for parents when the child arrives,” Kelsey said.
Florida currently has a safe haven law. It allows parents to hand over their newborn to a staff member at a hospital or fire station lawfully.
Democratic State Sen. Lauren Book is one of the legislators that voted against Senate Bill 870.
It would authorize the placement of infants in baby boxes, set parameters for safety and increase the age in which a newborn can be given up from seven to 30 days.
“I believe if it’s not (broken) don’t fix it,” Book said. “I think this is a dangerous place to go when we have a system in place that works.”
One of her concerns is that the father of a surrendered child would be left in the dark.
“If a biological father wants to be in the life of their child this baby is now in the custody of the state and has no rights and no knowledge that that baby has been surrendered or if they were even born,” Book said.
Other legislators worry the box will malfunction.
Republican State Sen. Colleen Burton said this legislation wasn’t meant to replace current law.
“All this legislation does is set the parameters to say it can be done. It doesn’t say it’s the only way to do it,” Burton said.
Although the bill died in committee, there is no law stating the device can’t be used in Florida.
Kelsey said her organization runs on donations and fundraising.
“Us coming into the state of Florida and putting boxes in fire stations and hospitals costs the taxpayers nothing,” Kelsey said.
The only baby box in the entire state of Florida lives at an Ocala Fire Department.
It has been there for about two years, but it was used for the first time this year.
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