The Wisconsin legislature has passed a bill (Senate Bill 369) that will authorize installation of Safe Haven Baby Boxes in hospitals, fire stations, and law enforcement agency buildings; and will allow mothers to give up their babies anonymously within 72 hours of birth. Governor Tony Evers, who is staunchly pro-abortion, is expected to sign the bill into law.
State Representative Ellen Schutt – one of the bill's authors – told Live Action she was inspired to sponsor the bill after a baby in her area was found abandoned in a field over the summer. Gracie Skogman of Wisconsin Right to Life tells AFN Safe Haven Baby Boxes are designed to deal with exactly that problem: abandoned babies.
"The unfortunate reality is we've had some infants [whose] lives have been taken here in our state, and it's just heartbreaking," she shares. "We have seen in other states that these baby boxes have saved lives and changed lives … and we want to do it here in Wisconsin as well."
Skogman points out that none of the expenses to install the baby boxes will be paid via the state treasury.
"… There are many private forms of funding that are already available here in the state," she explains. "So, actually we have the good problem … that there are so many nonprofits nationwide and here in the state and pregnancy resource centers and other avenues that have already said that they are willing to cover the costs to install these boxes."
Safe Haven Baby Boxes are currently found in 14 states, the majority of them in Indiana. The SHBB website offers a nine-step guide for individuals or groups interested in making the baby boxes available in their areas.
