MONROE — In January 2024, State Representative William Bruck introduced House Bill 5407, a bill that would allow Safe Haven Baby Boxes to be added to fire stations for parents to anonymously give up their infants without being charged for parental abandonment under Michigan law. Once the summer break for the house committees is over he plans to reintroduce it to the house to help both children and parents in tough situations.
According to Bruck, in the last 10 years Michigan has seen close to 400 infant drop-offs at hospitals, fire stations, and other, more dangerous places like front doorsteps and even dumpsters. In all these cases there months of litigation to go through, searching for the child's family and then getting them adopted. With HB 5407, Bruck hopes to expedite the process so that the infants can be put into good homes sooner.
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"We're just trying to make this process a lot better for the child," he said.
Bruck was encouraged to research this idea by Monroe Charter Township trustee John Manor, who recommended it on behalf of his wife, Linda, who works as a nurse at ProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital. She discovered the Safe Haven Baby Boxes website and learned about the program and its application and thought it was a good idea for Michigan in particular, which has a law saying that you can give you baby to authorities, but can't do it anonymously, which might cause some women to abandon the baby rather than be exposed.
"It just seems like that one little loophole determines whether a baby lives or dies, right?" she said.
— Contact reporter Connor Veenstra at CVeenstra@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: State Rep. Bruck introduces anonymous baby surrender bill
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