BabySafeHaven
03-16-2004, 03:27 AM
MASSACHUSETTS
http://www.projo.com/massachusetts/content/projo_20040316_sw16tm.1a962c.html
Swansea will seek safe haven legislation
If state lawmakers approve, mothers will be able to drop unwanted children off
to Swansea authorities with out fear of reproach.
01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, March 16, 2004
BY MARK REYNOLDS
Journal Staff Writer
SWANSEA -- The selectmen are free to seek a special legislative act that would
let a woman turn over her newborn child to authorities in Swansea without
giving her name.
An overwhelming majority of residents voted to pursue a more flexible local law
on the issue last night, empowering selectmen to seek the creation of so-called
"safe havens" for newborns.
This would allow a woman to leave an unwanted baby with staff at the police
station, or a local firehouse, without any fear of prosecution and without
compromising her anonymity.
"It's really giving the newborn child a voice that it really doesn't have now,"
said the president of the Swansea Ambulance Corps, Christopher Sampson.
State lawmakers must pass special legislation to properly establish local safe
havens.
Supporters of such enclaves -- both in Swansea and across the state -- say safe
havens are the only way to keep some deeply troubled women from leaving their
babies to die.
Critics say safe havens encourage child abandonment without assisting
distraught young women who need help.
They say lawmakers must spend more time and energy addressing the root causes
of the problem.
The brief debate at last night's Special Town Meeting focused on the wisdom of
seeking special rules for Swansea that might differ from the rules followed by
most other cities and towns.
It also touched on local authorities' capabilities for handling newborns.
"Do you have a nurse for that child?" asked resident Helena Lamarre. "Do you
have anything for that child before you bring him to the hospital?"
Selectman Ronald J. Ramos told Lamarre that an ambulance crew would provide the
appropriate care from the police station or firehouse.
"Someone's going to be there," Ramos said. "All they're going to have to do is
make a 911 call."
The discussion of the issue was colored by an incident in town last fall.
Barbara O'Leary, a local woman in divorce proceedings, secretly gave birth to a
baby boy on Halloween.
Embarrassed by the circumstances of the child's conception, the 36-year-old
decided to give the boy away.
So she told police she had found someone else's baby in a cardboard box in her
car.
Police stopped their search for the child's mother the following day after
O'Leary corrected her story.
They did not charge O'Leary with child abandonment.
Instead, Police Chief George Arruda asked state lawmakers to pass a safe haven
law for every city and town in Massachusetts.
Arruda told voters that he has "mixed emotions" about the idea of creating safe
havens in Swansea and just a few other towns.
He also said the facilities for babies at the police station are inadequate.
"I'm torn," he said.
Nonetheless, he said he would much prefer dealing with a baby at the police
station than facing the worst-case scenario.
The town's police officers can handle the challenge, he said.
In the past, Massachusetts lawmakers have opted against the enactment of a
similar state law.
However, a proposal nearly identical to the one supported by Swansea residents
at last night's Special Town Meeting won House approval on Thursday. The
legislation now awaits Senate approval.
The legal proposal approved last night by Swansea residents allows safe havens
only for children who are less than eight days old.
The child must be left with personnel at the particular safe haven -- not alone
on the doorstep. In that case, prosecution for child abandonment is still
possible.
Staff will try to learn the name of the baby's parent, but they will not demand
it. They will offer the person a pamphlet of helpful information.
http://www.projo.com/massachusetts/content/projo_20040316_sw16tm.1a962c.html
Swansea will seek safe haven legislation
If state lawmakers approve, mothers will be able to drop unwanted children off
to Swansea authorities with out fear of reproach.
01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, March 16, 2004
BY MARK REYNOLDS
Journal Staff Writer
SWANSEA -- The selectmen are free to seek a special legislative act that would
let a woman turn over her newborn child to authorities in Swansea without
giving her name.
An overwhelming majority of residents voted to pursue a more flexible local law
on the issue last night, empowering selectmen to seek the creation of so-called
"safe havens" for newborns.
This would allow a woman to leave an unwanted baby with staff at the police
station, or a local firehouse, without any fear of prosecution and without
compromising her anonymity.
"It's really giving the newborn child a voice that it really doesn't have now,"
said the president of the Swansea Ambulance Corps, Christopher Sampson.
State lawmakers must pass special legislation to properly establish local safe
havens.
Supporters of such enclaves -- both in Swansea and across the state -- say safe
havens are the only way to keep some deeply troubled women from leaving their
babies to die.
Critics say safe havens encourage child abandonment without assisting
distraught young women who need help.
They say lawmakers must spend more time and energy addressing the root causes
of the problem.
The brief debate at last night's Special Town Meeting focused on the wisdom of
seeking special rules for Swansea that might differ from the rules followed by
most other cities and towns.
It also touched on local authorities' capabilities for handling newborns.
"Do you have a nurse for that child?" asked resident Helena Lamarre. "Do you
have anything for that child before you bring him to the hospital?"
Selectman Ronald J. Ramos told Lamarre that an ambulance crew would provide the
appropriate care from the police station or firehouse.
"Someone's going to be there," Ramos said. "All they're going to have to do is
make a 911 call."
The discussion of the issue was colored by an incident in town last fall.
Barbara O'Leary, a local woman in divorce proceedings, secretly gave birth to a
baby boy on Halloween.
Embarrassed by the circumstances of the child's conception, the 36-year-old
decided to give the boy away.
So she told police she had found someone else's baby in a cardboard box in her
car.
Police stopped their search for the child's mother the following day after
O'Leary corrected her story.
They did not charge O'Leary with child abandonment.
Instead, Police Chief George Arruda asked state lawmakers to pass a safe haven
law for every city and town in Massachusetts.
Arruda told voters that he has "mixed emotions" about the idea of creating safe
havens in Swansea and just a few other towns.
He also said the facilities for babies at the police station are inadequate.
"I'm torn," he said.
Nonetheless, he said he would much prefer dealing with a baby at the police
station than facing the worst-case scenario.
The town's police officers can handle the challenge, he said.
In the past, Massachusetts lawmakers have opted against the enactment of a
similar state law.
However, a proposal nearly identical to the one supported by Swansea residents
at last night's Special Town Meeting won House approval on Thursday. The
legislation now awaits Senate approval.
The legal proposal approved last night by Swansea residents allows safe havens
only for children who are less than eight days old.
The child must be left with personnel at the particular safe haven -- not alone
on the doorstep. In that case, prosecution for child abandonment is still
possible.
Staff will try to learn the name of the baby's parent, but they will not demand
it. They will offer the person a pamphlet of helpful information.
