BabySafeHaven
02-03-2004, 10:38 AM
MASSACHUSETTS
http://www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/
'Safe Haven' bill opposed by Ellen Story
By MARY CAREY
February 3, 2004
A committee in the state Legislature is scheduled to vote next Tuesday on a
proposed ''Safe Haven'' bill, which sounds as though it would be relatively
noncontroversial.
But it isn't.
Forty-five states have passed versions of a law allowing a mother to leave an
unwanted baby in a safe place without fear of prosecution. In some states, a
woman can leave a newborn at a fire or police station or a hospital. In others,
the range of designated safe havens is more limited, such as only at hospitals.
The laws include provisions outlining which state agencies become involved and
a timeline for their involvement.
The call for a safe-haven law in Massachusetts grew louder in the summer of
2002, after a newborn was found dead in a trash bin at the University of
Massachusetts. Legislative leaders, including influential House Speaker Thomas
Finneran, have indicated their support.
But state Rep. Ellen Story, D-Amherst, who has been an outspoken advocate for
women's health care and social services funding, is against it. She explained
why in a Jan. 12 letter to House members that she co-authored with several
other legislators.
''The goal of the legislation is to prevent women in distress from abandoning
their babies in dumpsters, restrooms or other unsafe places. However, the women
most at risk for abandoning a child are unlikely to consider a police station
or an emergency room a so-called 'safe haven,''' Story's group writes.
''We have learned that such laws in other states have not discouraged parents
from unsafely abandoning their babies.''
According to Story, evidence from other states suggests that women who might
otherwise seek adoption measures have abandoned their babies anonymously
because they perceive it an easier route. ''The result will be that more
children will grow up with no knowledge of the identities of their parents or
any medical history.''
Story's group argues that safe-haven laws endorse the concealment of
pregnancies and the weakening of the rights of fathers. ''Rather than reaching
mothers and fathers through counseling or medical treatment, it will encourage
baby abandonment and unsafe behavior.''
In 2002, the National Conference of State Legislatures surveyed states that had
passed safe-haven laws. It did not reach any conclusions, and Nina
Williams-Mbengue, the policy specialist for the national conference, said then
that it was ''hard to get a handle on what's going on.'' A big question, she
said, is who are the mothers who are abandoning their children and why. ''There
are not good profiles of the moms out there, so it's kind of hard to figure
out.''
Proponents of the safe-haven bill say there is a small percentage of women who,
out of fear, deny they are pregnant up to the point that they are delivering,
and the law is aimed at them. Boston-area Michael Morrissey, who describes
himself as a ''citizen advocate'' for the law, said he was ''stunned'' by
Story's stance against it.
''The argument against the current Baby Safe-haven bill by Rep. Story can have
'leave them out in the cold' consequences for totally vulnerable newborns in
the Commonwealth,'' Morrissey said in a prepared statement.
Story, Morrissey said, should ''address her district and answer to her
illogical stance against 97 percent of the U.S. population, 45 states, many
national broadcast programs that portray baby safe-haven laws as the newborn
lifesaving laws that they were passed to be.''
In the meantime, Morrissey said, the proposed law's proponents will seek home
rule petitions calling for a safe-haven law, ''or possibly a local initiative
bill'' in Story's district, which includes Amherst and Granby, so that ''Story
can openly debate her opposition.''
The vote in the Legislature next week will be in the House Steering, Policy and
Scheduling Committee.
http://www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/
'Safe Haven' bill opposed by Ellen Story
By MARY CAREY
February 3, 2004
A committee in the state Legislature is scheduled to vote next Tuesday on a
proposed ''Safe Haven'' bill, which sounds as though it would be relatively
noncontroversial.
But it isn't.
Forty-five states have passed versions of a law allowing a mother to leave an
unwanted baby in a safe place without fear of prosecution. In some states, a
woman can leave a newborn at a fire or police station or a hospital. In others,
the range of designated safe havens is more limited, such as only at hospitals.
The laws include provisions outlining which state agencies become involved and
a timeline for their involvement.
The call for a safe-haven law in Massachusetts grew louder in the summer of
2002, after a newborn was found dead in a trash bin at the University of
Massachusetts. Legislative leaders, including influential House Speaker Thomas
Finneran, have indicated their support.
But state Rep. Ellen Story, D-Amherst, who has been an outspoken advocate for
women's health care and social services funding, is against it. She explained
why in a Jan. 12 letter to House members that she co-authored with several
other legislators.
''The goal of the legislation is to prevent women in distress from abandoning
their babies in dumpsters, restrooms or other unsafe places. However, the women
most at risk for abandoning a child are unlikely to consider a police station
or an emergency room a so-called 'safe haven,''' Story's group writes.
''We have learned that such laws in other states have not discouraged parents
from unsafely abandoning their babies.''
According to Story, evidence from other states suggests that women who might
otherwise seek adoption measures have abandoned their babies anonymously
because they perceive it an easier route. ''The result will be that more
children will grow up with no knowledge of the identities of their parents or
any medical history.''
Story's group argues that safe-haven laws endorse the concealment of
pregnancies and the weakening of the rights of fathers. ''Rather than reaching
mothers and fathers through counseling or medical treatment, it will encourage
baby abandonment and unsafe behavior.''
In 2002, the National Conference of State Legislatures surveyed states that had
passed safe-haven laws. It did not reach any conclusions, and Nina
Williams-Mbengue, the policy specialist for the national conference, said then
that it was ''hard to get a handle on what's going on.'' A big question, she
said, is who are the mothers who are abandoning their children and why. ''There
are not good profiles of the moms out there, so it's kind of hard to figure
out.''
Proponents of the safe-haven bill say there is a small percentage of women who,
out of fear, deny they are pregnant up to the point that they are delivering,
and the law is aimed at them. Boston-area Michael Morrissey, who describes
himself as a ''citizen advocate'' for the law, said he was ''stunned'' by
Story's stance against it.
''The argument against the current Baby Safe-haven bill by Rep. Story can have
'leave them out in the cold' consequences for totally vulnerable newborns in
the Commonwealth,'' Morrissey said in a prepared statement.
Story, Morrissey said, should ''address her district and answer to her
illogical stance against 97 percent of the U.S. population, 45 states, many
national broadcast programs that portray baby safe-haven laws as the newborn
lifesaving laws that they were passed to be.''
In the meantime, Morrissey said, the proposed law's proponents will seek home
rule petitions calling for a safe-haven law, ''or possibly a local initiative
bill'' in Story's district, which includes Amherst and Granby, so that ''Story
can openly debate her opposition.''
The vote in the Legislature next week will be in the House Steering, Policy and
Scheduling Committee.
