Baby drop boxes proposed across Michigan in new bill

FOX 2 (WJBK) - A Michigan state representative is introducing a new plan to protect abandoned babies across the state. The bill would allow the installation of baby drop boxes at all fire stations, under the state's Safe Delivery Law.

Republican state Rep. Will Bruck is behind the bill. The drop boxes would provide parents in need with a safe place to turn over their infant that they cannot take care of.

"Since 2001, Michigan’s Safe Delivery of Newborns Law has allowed parents to surrender their newborns to hospitals, as well as police and fire stations, instead of endangering their lives through abandonment. More than 240 babies have been safely surrendered in Michigan since the law was originally adopted," according to the Michigan House of Representatives. 

The new bill would expand on the existing law.

"My goal is to provide a compassionate solution to a heartbreaking problem," Bruck said in a news release. "This legislation offers a secure and legal option for parents facing tough decisions, ensuring the well-being of newborns and giving families a lifeline during difficult times."

Michigan does not have that alternative yet – but baby drop boxes are saving lives across the country. In Michigan City, Indiana, they have had two babies dropped off so far.

"A lot of these pregnancies are hidden. They don’t think they can handle these children as far as financially – maybe they’re just not in the place in their life that they can do it," said Assistant Chief Warren Smith at the Coolspring Township Fire Department. "It’s a really great alternative."

"The end result is we had two babies that were alive and healthy with no problems at all," Smith continued. "The parents of these babies had no repercussions."

When the first baby was dropped off it was special, Smith said, knowing they had saved a life.

"We’ve seen success in other states and that’s why… fire departments were reaching out to me to do this here in Michigan, because they found out they couldn’t," Bruck told FOX 2. "So this (bill) allows them to pay at their own expense, the municipalities' expense, to install these professionally designed and manufactured baby drop boxes."

For now, the bill is in committee, under review.

Smith, who has seen it work twice firsthand, says the drop boxes should be allowed across the country.

"It’s a great opportunity for these people to have an option," he said. "It’s a really, really wonderful thing."