SEVILLE, Ohio — Baby boxes are supposed to protect the most vulnerable among us. So why aren't they regulated by any U.S. government agency?
Approximately 100 physicians, child welfare experts, and other key stakeholders asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to regulate "infant abandonment boxes," which are owned by a single U.S. company, Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
The letter says the boxes pose "a wide range of harms and unintended consequences" to babies and their mothers.
No government agency currently regulates how infant abandonment boxes are built, installed, maintained, or
marketed, according to the letter.
How they work
The boxes are built into the exterior walls of fire stations and medical centers. They include alarms to alert staff when an infant is placed inside a box, video monitoring, and temperature controls.
According to its website, Safe Haven Baby Boxes are "a safe, legal, and compassionate option for parents in crisis who are unable to care for their infant," in accordance with Safe Haven Laws.
But medical experts have said there is no evidence the boxes can adequately protect a newborn baby.
The Maryland Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recently fought to stop infant abandonment boxes from coming to their state.
In a statement to lawmakers, they argued there is "no research or clinical evidence of their safety or appropriateness."
Where they are
Indiana resident Monica Kelsey is its founder and co-owns the Safe Haven Baby Boxes with her husband.
According to an IRS 990 form, the company earned $2,058,972 in total revenue in 2023.
Kelsey said there are currently 316 Safe Haven Baby Boxes in the U.S.
There are also plans for more. The Chardon Fire Department recently decided to buy one of the baby boxes.
There are already 13 baby boxes in Ohio, including a new box at the Seville-Guilford Fire Department in Medina County.
The box is installed into the exterior wall of the fire station's gym.
It automatically locks if a baby is placed inside. An alarm should then alert staff a child is in the box.
“This is just another way the fire department is responding to the needs of the community," Seville-Guilford Fire Chief Brian Cyphert said during a ceremony to bless the department's infant abandonment box earlier this month.
"We don’t want these parents to utilize this box if we can help them beforehand," Kelsey said. "But if they do need it, it’s here now."
For Kelsey, her mission to protect unwanted newborns is deeply personal. She said her birth mother abandoned her at an Ohio hospital two hours after she was born.
"I stand on the front lines of this movement as one of these kids that wasn’t lovingly, and safely, and legally, and anonymously placed in a Safe Haven Baby Box by a parent that wanted me," she said. "This is my legacy and I am their voice."
Two associated deaths
"I would say that these infant abandonment boxes represent a very laudable goal to help to protect vulnerable babies," said Lori Bruce, a bioethicist at Yale University. "The way that they’re implemented can really fail to meet the needs of the target population."
Bruce is the main signatory on the letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that requests federal oversight of Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
She said marketing for the baby boxes fails to include information about other options, including kinship care, open adoption, and family preservation funds.
She said the baby boxes disincentive women experiencing a crisis pregnancy from seeking medical care.
"They often give birth alone outside of a hospital and that presents risks to the baby and that also presents risks to the parent," Bruce said.
According to the organization, 55 babies have been safely surrendered in Safe Haven Baby Boxes since 2016.
However, the letter notes there were also two deaths associated with Safe Haven Baby Boxes last year.
A dead newborn baby was left in a Safe Haven Baby Box in Idaho, with the placenta still attached, in October.
The baby's mother, 18, was criminally charged for failing to report the death.
Another mother overdosed after leaving her baby in a Safe Haven Baby Box last March, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services letter.
"These deaths all point to the need for policies that are further upstream, that seek to solve problems even before a box can ever be considered," Bruce said.
There are several other concerns outlined in the letter, including adoption rights groups and medical professionals who say anonymity deprives the baby of their medical history and opportunities for connection with their birth parents and extended family.
The letter also proposes a solution.
It encourages the agency to endorse "confidential birth."
It would allow women to anonymously give birth at a hospital or birthing center.
Bruce said hospitals already have policies that provide anonymity for sexual assault survivors, domestic violence victims, and celebrities who are seeking privacy while they receive medical care.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes response
During the "Blessing of the Box" in Seville earlier this month, I tried to ask Kelsey about the lack of federal oversight.
When she was offered the opportunity to comment on the safety of her baby boxes and the letter, she refused to answer any questions.
"I am here to bless a box," she said. "I don't want your opportunity."
Cyphert did speak with us about his department's baby box.
He told us he was unaware of the HHS letter or the medical, ethical, legal, and safety concerns it raised.
He asked to keep a copy and said he would share the information with his staff
He encouraged pregnant women to seek medical care and described the box as a "last resort."
