Maine and New Hampshire have officially installed their first Safe Haven Baby Boxes, marking the arrival of the life-saving program in New England and bringing the total number of participating states nationwide to 26.
The nonprofit Safe Haven Baby Boxes organization announced the new installations last week, with boxes now operational in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Rumford, Maine.
The expansion comes as the program continues growing across the country amid ongoing debates over abortion, infant abandonment and crisis pregnancies.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes are designed to provide desperate parents with a safe, anonymous and legal way to surrender newborns rather than abandoning them in unsafe locations.
The devices function as temperature-controlled incubators typically built into exterior walls of fire stations, hospitals or police stations. Once a newborn is placed inside, the outside door locks automatically, giving the parent time to leave anonymously before alarms notify emergency personnel inside the building.
First responders then retrieve the infant and transport the child to a hospital for medical evaluation before the baby is typically placed into state custody and eventually adopted.
The organization says more than 70 newborns have been safely surrendered through baby boxes nationwide, while another 150 parents have used other safe-haven surrender options after contacting the organization’s crisis hotline.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes first launched in Indiana nine years ago and has since expanded to more than 425 locations across the country.
In Maine, the Rumford Fire Department held a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 12 celebrating the installation of the state’s first baby box.
Funding for the project was reportedly provided by Maine Right to Life.
“We are grateful for the dedication of the Rumford Fire Department and Chief Reed, whose leadership and willingness to serve made this life-saving resource possible,” Maine Right to Life Board President Lori Cloutier said.
“Safe Haven Baby Boxes are about preserving life, ensuring safety, and responding to crisis situations with care rather than judgment,” Cloutier added.
New Hampshire unveiled its first box one day later at the Manchester Central Fire Station.
The Manchester project was funded by the Pennacook Pregnancy Center, whose director, Catherine Kelley, said the effort followed growing local concern after a newborn girl was found dead in a city pond last year.
The infant, later referred to by the community as “Baby Grace,” became the center of a widely publicized tragedy that led to community vigils and a funeral service before authorities eventually arrested the child’s mother on murder charges.
“I’m thrilled and I know it will be used,” Kelley said during the unveiling ceremony. “It will be bittersweet, but it will mean that somebody had an opportunity to do the right thing for their baby that they couldn’t care for.”
The boxes have gained particular support among pro-life organizations, many of which view the program as part of a broader effort to offer alternatives to abortion while supporting mothers in crisis.
The Safe Haven Baby Boxes organization also operates a confidential national hotline — 1-866-99BABY1 — providing counseling, information and guidance for parents considering safe surrender options.
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