This op-ed by Cornerstone’s Shannon McGinley was originally published in the Union Leader 11/21/2024.
What if I told you that, right now, towns and municipalities in New Hampshire are empowered to put proactive measures in place that would save the lives of unwanted infants? They can, thanks to our state’s newly expanded safe-haven laws that lengthen the surrender age to 61 days and provide for the installation of baby boxes at 24-hour staffed facilities.
These baby boxes are safe, providing the parent a comfortable and secure receptacle while alerting staff to respond. They offer parents a layer of anonymity that will encourage them to surrender their unwanted child rather than make that child suffer through neglect or abuse. And there is community support for installing baby boxes. In fact, in many areas, local donor funds are being made available that will offset the cost of procuring these specialized devices.
Sadly, some towns and municipalities are turning down proposals to even explore equipping their facilities with these lifesaving devices. One recent example is the town of Wolfeboro, where only one selectman out of five bravely stood in support of women and girls in crisis. And the reasons they are giving to withhold that support might surprise you.
Make no mistake, there are unwanted infants in our state. Many may just become sad statistics or eventually end up in the system irreparably damaged. As a state, we need to encourage parents to surrender their at-risk infants through a safe and anonymous mechanism.
However, towns are pushing back. They argue that parents can surrender their child to someone at a hospital. While that’s technically true, our hospitals are known for not providing the anonymity parents seek; some even partner with law enforcement to prosecute, a clear deterrent. While well-meaning, the child’s welfare must be placed above “catching” the parents.
Another argument is that baby boxes “only save” 73 lives each year across the United States. If those lives were overseas hostages, would we be arguing against investing the resources to free them? And, if a town’s baby box only saved a single life in a year, would we say it’s not worth it? The truth is we simply don’t know how many lives could be saved, but a baby box could encourage reluctant parents to take that lifesaving step for their child.
Finally, there is controversy over one national manufacturer of baby boxes, largely ignited by an individual who has a bone to pick with the company. But that is a complete red herring. Baby boxes are not complex devices to build, and our organization has referred individuals to local contractors ready and willing to build them.
I can’t imagine towns failing to fully equip their overall emergency response capability using the argument that only “x” lives would be saved. I encourage every town and municipality in New Hampshire to at least explore the installation of a baby box in their emergency facilities. Even saving a single child’s life would make the time investment worthwhile.
