Celebrating 20 Years of the Safe Haven Law

Imagine you are pregnant and alone. You do not want your baby but you do not know what to do. Luckily, there is a Safe Haven Law that is celebrating 20 years.

April is not only Child Abuse Prevention Month but it is also Save Abandoned Babies Month as proclaimed by Governor Pritzker, who encourages all citizens to recognize the importance of protecting abandoned infants and giving them the proper care they deserve.

The enactment of Illinois’ Safe Haven Law, a/k/a the Illinois Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act, has been around for 20 years. The Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act offers a protected, legal alternative to unsafe infant abandonment. An unharmed newborn, up to 30 days old, may be handed to staff at a hospital, emergency medical care facility, police station, firehouse, college/University police station, or Illinois State Police district headquarters. No questions need to be answered and there is no fear of prosecution.

John and Tracy were the first to receive an infant as a result of this law. Here is their story:
“We are the parents of the first baby safely abandoned under Illinois’ safe haven law. We have a difficult time finding the right words to express how grateful we are to the Save Abandoned Babies (SAB) Foundation for making this law possible and for the tremendous, loving support it continues to provide.

Our son Matthew is the absolute light of our lives. He is a happy, healthy, and very energetic little boy. We are so glad the safe haven law made it possible for his birth mother to make such a loving, unselfish decision.

All we can say is thank you—thank you to everyone involved with the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation and the safe haven law, as well as to our son’s birth mother. All of you hold a very special place in our hearts.

It is truly a joy to have Matthew call us Mommy and Daddy, a joy we would not have experienced without the hard, exhausting work of the SAB Foundation. “
Dawn Geras, founder and past president of the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation, has worked tirelessly over the last 20 years to make sure that no infant is abandoned.
“143 babies have been safely and legally relinquished under the Illinois law since
it was passed in 2001 and they now have the opportunity for a bright future”, said Geras. “However, eighty seven other infants were discarded, and 51% of them did not
survive. We still have work to do to raise awareness of the Safe Haven option and
ensure that no mother feels stuck in an impossible situation with an unwanted baby.”

“We continue to work to end the dumpster baby tragedy. Awareness of this law will save
these babies. However, with only a few dozen volunteers and a limited budget, getting
out the information of this law is a never ending challenge. You need to work smart and
hard with these limited resources”, Dawn added. “Please take 2 minutes to donate $20 for 20 years by visiting our website saveabandonedbabies.org and clicking on the donate button at the top.”

The Save Abandoned Babies Foundation is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
dedicated to saving the lives of newborn infants who might otherwise be unsafely abandoned.

For more information, visit: www.SaveAbandonedBabies.org