By Astrid Galvan -
The Associated Press
For years, Nicole Olson had longed for a baby and had gone through a rigorous and emotional adoption process.
Until one day she and her husband received a call asking if they wanted to adopt a newborn.
That same day, as soon as possible.
The baby had been released through what is known as the Safe Haven Child Protection Act. These laws, which exist in every state,
allow parents to leave a baby in a safe place without criminal consequences.
Laws began to be passed in state legislatures in the early 2000s in response to reports of horrific murders and abandonment of babies, which received abundant media attention.
Babies are at the highest risk of being killed on their first day of life,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Olson rushed to a Target, filled four carts with baby supplies, and was home with the newborn by dinner.
Ten years later, the baby that Olson and her husband, Michael, named Porter is thriving.
He's athletic, fun, and has adjusted well after a tough time during the pandemic, according to Olson.
[A 14-year-old teenager abandons her baby at a Latino restaurant in New Jersey. A law regulates cases like yours]
Safe haven laws came to attention this month when Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett raised the role they play in the abortion rights debate. Barrett made the remarks during a hearing this month on a Mississippi law that seeks to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, and would possibly challenge the right to abortion established by the Roe v. Decision. Wade of 1973, which legalized abortion throughout the United States, and which was confirmed by the 1992 court ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
From left to right, Michael Olson, Paul Olson, 18, Porter Olson, 10, and Nicole Olson with their dog named Dotty at their home, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2021, in Phoenix.
Porter was released at birth through what is known as the safe haven law.Matt York / AP
Barrett, with a long history of personal opposition to abortion, focused on a key argument against forcing women to be mothers, and suggested that safe haven laws address those concerns.
"Why don't safe haven laws address that problem?"
, I ask.
Julie Rikelman, the attorney who opposes the Mississippi law, refuted that argument, asserting that the right to abortion refers not only to forced motherhood, but to forced pregnancy.
“It places unique physical risks and demands on women and, in fact, affects their entire lives,
their ability to care for other children, other family members, their ability to work.
And in Mississippi in particular, those risks are alarmingly high, "said Rikelman of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
[A 22-year-old mother is arrested after leaving her newborn baby in a garbage can in Los Angeles. She claims that she was raped]
In a traditional adoption, the family knows who the mother is.
They have her medical history and it is common to have a relationship with her.
That's what Olson, a Phoenix-area high school teacher, expected when she and her husband worked with a private agency after years of trying other avenues.
Their son, Paul, who was 7 years old at the time, was also looking forward to having a brother.
But when they met their newborn,
the couple did not know his exact date of birth, his race, or any
pertinent
medical
information.
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“We didn't really know what we were getting into.
It
's one of those things where you have to take a leap of faith
, ”Olson said.
And he added: "But I think that is what happens with any child, whether biological or adopted."
Detractors of safe haven laws are hard to come by, and their advocates claim that if they save a single baby from murder, they are worth it.
But some question its effectiveness.
Adam Pertman, president and CEO of the National Center for Adoption and Permanency, said the effectiveness of the laws, including in preventing death, has not been sufficiently studied.
[The Baby Who Changed US History Reveals Her Identity]
"It's flawed from the start because a woman who would put her child in a garbage can is not going to see a sign and say 'Oh, I'm going to go to the police station instead," she said, adding that a woman in that situation "is not convincing enough to make a decision, or it would not put your child in the garbage can."
According to Pertman,
safe haven laws do not address the needs a woman might have
if she were in a crisis so great as to hurt her child, nor do they provide resources for someone in need.
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Pertman claims that further restricting access to abortion, or voiding Roe v.
Wade, it could result in more children staying in safe havens and not being adopted the traditional way - with comprehensive medical records and health information.
There is no national database that records the number of babies delivered through safe haven laws, but the National Safe Haven Alliance, a non-profit organization that promotes these laws and provides resources to parents in need. , collects the figures for most states each year.
[No, it is false that there is an increased risk of miscarriage from the COVID-19 vaccine]
Just
over 4,000 babies
have been delivered since the first law went into effect in 1999, according to the organization and the CDC, which released a report in 2020.
The CDC found that
the majority of infant homicides that take place on the day of birth are committed by young, single mothers
with lower levels of education who had not sought prenatal care, and that they are often associated with a hidden pregnancy rather than planned and with giving birth at home.
The study found that the overall child homicide rate was 13% lower in the years since safe haven laws were adopted across the country.
The study compared data from 1989 to 1998 with data from 2008 to 2017. All states had adopted safe haven laws in 2008.
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The number of babies killed during their first day of life fell by almost 67%
, according to the study.
But most homicide victims were too old to be released under safe haven laws at the time of their death.
In 11 states and Puerto Rico, only babies 72 hours or less can be released to a designated safe haven, while 19 states accept babies up to 1 month of age, and other states have variable age limits in their statutes.
The CDC recommends that states "evaluate the effectiveness of their safe haven laws
and other prevention strategies to ensure that they are achieving the intended infant homicide prevention benefits."
The vast majority of child welfare advocates praise safe haven laws, claiming that they keep babies alive and safe when a biological parent is unable to care for them.
Babies are quickly adopted, and they rarely go through a foster home.
But
many warn that safe haven placement as an alternative to abortion is flawed: it
does not take into account the health and economic risks a woman faces during pregnancy, nor the risks of childbirth in the nation with the maternal mortality rate. highest in developed countries.
Olson works with an organization that upholds safe haven laws and hopes more people will know about them.
"The biggest message I've tried to get across is that when you have a desperate situation, someone will be there to help you," Olson said.