SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – In August, the body of a baby was found abandoned in a Sioux Falls recycling center.
The discovery rocked the community; a public funeral was held in his honor and he was named Baby Gabriel by a local couple.
This sparked a new bill that would make it easier for parents to surrender their newborns.
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House Bill 1044 would amend the state’s current safe haven laws, allowing parents to surrender babies in a climate-controlled, locked baby box instead of in person.
“If someone is in so desperate of a situation, even though it’s supposed to be anonymous, obviously they’re gonna see your face and that might be too difficult for someone,” said Republican Rep. Bethany Soye, the bill’s prime sponsor. “We want to provide another option.”
It has been named the Baby Gabriel bill.
Travis and Jessica Remme, a couple from Iowa, helped name Gabriel and arrange his funeral. They lost their daughter in 2018 and started the Oaklyn Foundation to help parents who lost a child.
Jessica told KELOLAND News in a statement that she thinks the baby boxes are “extremely necessary.”
“Gabriel is just one example where his life may have been spared,” Jessica said. “We never know what others are walking, the fear, addiction, and hopelessness, which all can lead to a life altering decision. Even if these safe haven boxes saved the life of one child, it would be worth it.”
South Dakota’s current safe haven laws say people must leave their baby with a staff member at emergency locations like a hospital, fire department, police department or social services. The South Dakota Department of Social Services website says the person leaving their baby may be asked questions about the baby’s health, but they are not required to provide personal information.
Safe Haven Baby Box is one of the more popular baby box organizations in the country. They were designed to eliminate this face-to-face interaction, which may be a barrier for someone trying to surrender their child.
Safe Haven baby box in Fort Dodge.FILE — Monica Kelsey and the town of Woodburn, Ind., dedicated the first Safe Haven Baby Box of its kind on April 26, 2016, at the Woodburn Volunteer Fire Department. A fight is developing in Florida’s legislature over a measure that would allow fire stations and hospitals to install boxes where distressed mothers could leave their unwanted newborns. The Indiana-based group Safe Haven Baby Boxes is pushing the measure. It passed the House recently and is now before the Senate, where there is an attempt to block it. (Chad Ryan/The Journal Gazette via AP, File)(Courtesy: Mariah Betz)FILE – Monica Kelsey, firefighter and medic who is president of Safe Haven Baby Boxes Inc., poses with a prototype of a baby box, where parents could surrender their newborns anonymously, outside her fire station on Feb. 26, 2015, in Woodburn, Ind. Kentucky has seen its first infant anonymously dropped off at one of its “baby box” safe surrender locations, Kelsey said at a news conference Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
Safe Haven’s baby box, and other similar devices, is a climate-controlled box installed outside and can be accessed by both outside and inside. Once a baby has been anonymously placed into the box, the door will lock and multiple silent alarms will notify medical staff. The SHBB website says the baby is secured in less than two minutes.
Fire stations across the state are considered safe havens. Rapid City Fire Chief Jacob Culberson said a baby hasn’t been surrendered to any Rapid City stations in the time he’s worked there, but their emergency staff is still trained for the situation.
“They’d just end up taking care of them as best they can until the other resources arrive,” Culberson said. “If they need medical attention, that’s easy for us, we’ll just transport them to the hospital.”
Despite the lack of surrenders, Culberson said he would consider installing a baby box if the law is changed.
“It’s a good idea because a lot of times those moms don’t want to identify themselves,” he said.
The Baby Gabriel bill doesn’t provide any funding to implement the boxes, but local hospitals and organizations like Right to Life have indicated they would want to fund boxes in their communities, Soye said.
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She added that, other than Baby Gabriel, there is still a need in the state for different options. According to Soye, the Safe Haven Baby Box founder recently received a call from someone with a South Dakota phone number looking for a nearby location.
“Unfortunately, she had to tell the woman that there isn’t anything available, but was able to get her to go to a hospital instead,” Soye explained.
HB 1044 unanimously passed the House Health and Human Services Committee on January 23. Its next hearing has not been scheduled yet.