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Hart pushes 'safe havens' for unwanted infants
Tuesday, June 26, 2001 By Sally Kalson, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Efforts to promote "safe havens" for unwanted infants got renewed attention yesterday in the wake of another tragic discovery: Police acting on an anonymous tip found a dead newborn wrapped in a towel in a wooded area of Ellwood City earlier this month. A 19-year-old woman and her 23-year-old boyfriend have been charged in the death.
That incident prompted a press conference at Children's Hospital, where U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Bradford Woods, said she was introducing the Safe Havens Support Act of 2001. The bill would allow states to use surplus welfare reform block grant money to establish and publicize safe havens in their communities.
Safe havens are designated places, often medical facilities, where parents can safely relinquish an infant and receive immunity from prosecution, as long as the baby is safe and unharmed by abuse or neglect.
The babies are accepted, no questions asked, and the parents may remain anonymous if they wish. Services are free to the mother. Once relinquished, the babies are placed for adoption.
While some experts have questioned the effectiveness of such programs, 30 states have passed legal abandonment legislation and others, such as Pennsylvania, are considering it.
Noting that these programs only work if their existence is well publicized, Hart said states could use the money to spread the word via billboards, public service announcements and advertising.
Safe havens, she noted, save two lives --that of the baby and the young woman who, if discovered to have abandoned her child, would be subject to prosecution.
"If we have the surplus money to do this, then we should do it," Hart said. "Then, instead of stories about babies found dead in the trash, we can have more happy stories about babies being adopted."
The bill also would direct the secretary of Health and Human Services to study the characteristics and demographics of parents who have abandoned a baby within a year after its birth. It was unclear how such a study might be done on a population that is largely anonymous.
Appearing with Hart was Lawrence County District Attorney Matthew Mangino, who announced that all three hospitals in Lawrence County had agreed to act as safe havens.
Ellwood City Hospital, Jameson Health System and St. Francis Hospital in New Castle have signed on to the program, known as A Hand to Hold.
They join seven participating hospitals in the Pittsburgh area, where Mayor Tom Murphy and Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. announced a similar initiative last August.
"People sometimes ask if safe havens promote sexual conduct without consequences," Mangino said. "The answer is no. We think the responsible thing to do is leave an infant in a place where it will he provided for. The irresponsible thing is to leave it in a Dumpster."
The new program was designed "specifically for the desperate and frightened mother who has kept her pregnancy a secret," said founder Patti Weaver. "In many cases, these mothers are in denial and do not accept that they are pregnant until their baby is born."
Dr. Mary Clyde Pierce, chief of the Child Advocacy Center at Children's Hospital, noted that these young women had made no preparations for motherhood.
"So when they deliver, they think, 'If I don't see the baby, then I didn't have the baby.' "
Hart said the bill had bipartisan support and the backing of the House Republican leadership. She hopes it will pass this year and then move on to the Senate, where it has yet to find a sponsor.
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