Parents can safely surrender babies up to 30 days old due to Indiana’s safe haven law

The deaths of two abandoned babies left out in the elements became foundational in establishing Indiana’s Safe Haven Law.

After the discovery of these babies, the state’s opinion on parents who couldn’t care for their babies shifted, which is why there are safe haven laws today.

Here’s what to know.

Baby Ephraim was a baby found dead outside a hospital emergency room on Jan. 26, 2000. He died of hypothermia.

While the parents clearly wanted their baby to receive the care he needed, it was determined that the fear of prosecution is what deterred the parents from handing their child directly to a nurse inside the hospital.

Indiana had been mulling legislation like many states across the country, but Ephraim’s death would solidify their decision and on March 24, 2000, then-governor Frank O’Bannon signed the Indiana law.

Although the law didn’t exist to help Ephraim, it should have saved Baby Jacob.

Just a year later, on Dec. 8, 2001, Jacob was found dead in a trashcan by workers outside a laundromat. He was wrapped in a sheet, several shopping bags and a trash bag. He still had his umbilical cord attached to his tiny body.

At this point, Indiana’s Safe Haven law had been enacted for 18 months, but few people in Indianapolis knew. Jacob’s death would change that by prompting a widespread awareness campaign.

Read the full story: 2 babies found dead outside were buried in unmarked graves. How they changed Indiana law

Indiana’s Safe Haven Law allows for the anonymous surrender of an infant 30 days old or younger without prosecution. Infants may be surrendered at fire departments, hospitals and emergency medical services stations. So long as there are no signs of intentional abuse or neglect, the person surrendering the child is not required to provide any information. 

Developed by Monica Kelsey, who learned as an adult that she had been abandoned at a hospital after birth, safe haven baby boxes are devices installed in an exterior wall of fire stations or hospitals that allow for the anonymous surrender of an infant. The first box was installed at a fire station in Woodburn, Indiana, near Fort Wayne, in 2016.

The device is a two-way box, with a door inside and outside the building. The boxes are temperature controlled and programmed with several silent alarms to alert first responders. A silent alarm is triggered when the outside door is opened, when the baby is placed in the bassinet and again when the door is closed and automatically locked. 

First responders retrieve the baby from inside the building and transport the infant to an area hospital for medical evaluation. The Department of Child Services then assumes custody of the child.

Do people actually use safe haven baby boxes?

Yes. In 2017 and 2018, babies were surrendered in a box at a Michigan City, Indiana, fire station. Delays in construction meant a box was still not ready when a baby was surrendered at Decatur Township Fire Department on Indianapolis’ southwest side in 2018. The infant was found healthy.

In October of 2023, IndyStar reported that a baby box in Carmel was one of the most used in the country.

According to Kevin Albin from Safe Haven Baby Boxes, 2 babies have been surrendered via baby boxes in the state this year, with many more being surrendered directly to personnel using the national crisis hotline.

Previously: More infants are left in this Indiana baby box than anywhere else in the country

In Indiana, parents can surrender babies that are up to 30 days old either face to face or via baby boxes without facing prosecution.

You can check Safe Haven Baby Box’s website to find the nearest baby box.

Katie Wiseman is a trending news intern at IndyStar. Contact her at klwiseman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @itskatiewiseman.