A hospital in Central Texas will reportedly become the first location in the state to offer a "baby box" where people can safely surrender their newborn.
Coryell Health hospital in the city of Gatesville, about two hours from Austin, will install the Safe Haven box for parents in crisis to anonymously drop off a baby.
A longstanding law in Texas known as the Safe Haven or Baby Moses law already allowed a person to give up a baby by leaving the infant with an employee at a safe place like a fire, EMS or police station. During the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers expanded the law to allow qualified facilities to put in baby boxes so the drop-off can be confidential.
Dr. Jeff Bates, founder of a nonprofit called “The Lords Work," raised $7,500 for the project, and the plan is for the box to be up and running by December.
Once a baby is dropped off, an alarm system notifies employees a child has been placed in the device. The child then will receive medical care and is placed with an emergency provider.
Thirteen other states across the country also have Safe Haven baby boxes.
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