BENTON, Arkansas — A baby has been saved in Arkansas via the first surrender at a Safe Haven Baby Box in Benton, Arkansas Right to Life Executive Director Rose Mimms announced May 28.
On Sunday, May 24, at approximately 5:01 p.m. a newborn infant was placed in the Safe Haven Baby Box located at Benton Fire Station No. 3.
The Safe Haven Baby Box location in Benton was dedicated Sept. 18, 2019.
“We are grateful that the Safe Haven Baby Box provided this mother with a safe, anonymous surrender alternative for her and her child," said Mimms. "I applaud her bravery and the sacrificial gifts of life and adoption that she has given her son through the Safe Haven Baby Box program.”
Arkansas Senator Cecile Bledsoe applauded the Arkansas Legislature for supporting the Safe Haven Law and the impact it is having on saving children.
“I am so grateful to my colleagues in the Legislature who joined with me to add the baby boxes to the Safe Haven law," said Bledsoe. "A few days ago, instead of leaving a baby by the side of the road or on a doorstep, someone placed a newborn baby in the Safe Haven Baby Box where the baby was warm and protected. Arkansas now has the first baby saved through the baby boxes — a beautiful and healthy baby boy! What a miracle! Jeremiah 1:5.”
“The Safe Haven Law can help a mother to safely surrender her child to an official location, hospital, law enforcement or manned fire department in Arkansas or anonymously in a Safe Haven Baby Box,” Mimms said.
The Safe Haven Law, enacted in Arkansas in 2001, is designed to protect babies from being hurt or killed from abandonment by parents who are unwilling or unable to provide parenting. Under the law, a parent may surrender an infant 30 days or younger at a hospital emergency room or law enforcement agency, but in 2019 the law was amended to include manned fire stations as a surrender location.
The amended law, sponsored by Arkansas Sen. Bledsoe and Rep. Rebecca Petty, also approved the installation of Safe Haven Baby Boxes at surrender locations