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I'll be honest...this article really upset me. There is a quote about safe haven laws "saving" the babies life. I thought that was awful. I understand that the safe haven laws were enacted to help women who might otherwise panic and harm their infant...however I don't think it's a fair assumption for people to think that any mother that uses safe haven WOULD have harmed their infant if Safe Haven didn't exsist! I would really love to start a dialog about how we can spread the word that Safe Haven, or Safe Surrrender or whatever it's called in each state is a postive tool, not a last resort. Safe Haven is premoted almost soley in my state to young women in crisis pregnancy. I think that should continue, but I also think this would be an excellent resource and protection for other types of women (battered women potentially? I don't know) who would like to surrender their child.
The lack of counceling for safe haven mothers does concern me, but just as concerning is the reputation safe haven is getting in the media as a "savior" for babies that mothers might otherwise have harmed. Personally if I was planning to use Safe Haven and read this article I would then NOT use Safe Haven, cause I wouldn't want people to assume that I would have harmed my baby. I think the adoptive parents in this story do seem to "get it" but clearly the reporter does not...
Anyway...venting here, but would really love some feedback for things that can be done to promote Safe Haven in a positive way.
[url=http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2007/12/given_up_by_mother_newborn_fin.html]Given up by mother, newborn finds a loving home - New Orleans News - NOLA.com[/url]
Also, I did post this in the Safe Haven Forum, and would like to thank Crick for pointing out that is a support forum so it wasn't the right place for it. If I upset any Safe Haven Mom's that saw it, I deeply apologize...
Thank You!
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