It's tragic that we live in a world where Baby Boxes are even a necessity, but the reality is that the proposed Baby Boxes the state of South Dakota is discussing right now can and will help save the lives of infant children whose parents are not equipped to care for them.

What is a Baby Box?

Essentially it's a drop-box located at an emergency service provider that is staffed and operating 24/7.

Get our free mobile app

The proposed Baby Boxes will allow an individual, with anonymity, to deliver an infant to a box that is monitored 24/7, climate controlled, locked on the outside after closure, and equipped with an alarm system that notifies law enforcement immediately.

Dakota News Now reports that the bill behind the push for Baby Boxes ramped up following the case where an infant, known as Gabriel James Doe, was found dead at a recycling center in Sioux Falls back in August. That by the way, was the third such case in South Dakota since 2017.

South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden signed a series of bills on Thursday, (March 6) including House Bill 1044. The Baby Gabriel bill allows for cities around the state to implement baby drop boxes at emergency service providers if they are staffed and operating 24/7.

Drop boxes like the ones being discussed are in use in other states and have saved the lives of numerous infant children.

South Dakota already has a Safe Haven Law that has been in effect for twenty-five years. The law allows a woman to walk into a fire station and hand over her child to a person. However, as Dakota News Now reports, many feel that people want anonymity in situations like this, and the proposed Baby Boxes would give them that.

According to Dakota News Now, it will take several months for these boxes to be built after the bill takes effect in July. That's why Monica Kelsey, the Founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, along with others are working tirelessly to help educate the public on other available options until that time.

Kelsey wants every South Dakotan to know that Safe Haven is doing everything it can to help make South Dakota the 21st state where baby boxes are available.

Source: Dakota News Now