It has been 18 years since Michigan passed the Safe Haven law, also known as the “safe delivery” law. This is the law that allows a Michigan parent to safely and anonymously surrender a healthy, unharmed infant to authorities within 72 hours (or three days) of the child’s birth. And most importantly – the surrender doesn’t come with a lot of questions that need answering, or the threat of abandonment charges. That’s what makes the Safe Delivery law so neat – it comes with no questions asked, no legal backlash, and no criminal charges.

So why doesn’t Michigan have Safe Delivery “baby boxes” available?

Current Michigan law requires that anyone surrendering an unharmed infant has to hand them off in-person to a police officer, fireman, hospital worker, or emergency response personnel. The exchange has to happen in person, although there was a time when Michigan lawmakers were pushing for the installation of “safe delivery” boxes around the state. But former Governor Rick Snyder vetoed the bills that would have made that possible for Michigan residents, saying that he believed a person-to-person handoff was better.

What is a ‘Safe Delivery’ baby box and how do they work?

Safe Delivery baby boxes are boxes that are accessible from the outside of buildings, where a person can safely surrender a newborn in a completely anonymous way. The boxes allow a person to drop off a baby by placing the infant inside the box from outside of the facility. The box is then immediately and automatically locked so that no one outside the building can remove the child. The box then sounds an alarm that instantly alerts a local hospital or emergency responders inside the building so they know a baby has been surrendered and needs immediate attention.

A baby box has been placed right by the Michigan border…

A safe delivery baby box has just been installed at a fire station in Angola, a city in northeastern Indiana. But what makes this particular box special is the fact that its location was carefully chosen to aid Michigan parents who might want to surrender an infant, but aren’t comfortable with the face-to-face requirements of Michigan’s current law. This new box, located just minutes from the Michigan border, offers Great Lakes state residents a safe and legal way to offer their unwanted babies a chance at adoption into a loving family.

Surrendering a baby under the Safe Haven law means no criminal charges!

Surrendering your baby under the Safe Haven law will never result in criminal charges against you. It will also ensure that there’s no chance you’ll ever be prosecuted for neglect, abuse, or abandonment of that child in the future. However, if you are uncomfortable with the idea of a face-to-face surrender, there are sixteen baby boxes in Indiana, and three in Ohio. This website will provide you with specifics about where and how to go about safely surrendering a newborn using a baby box. If you’re okay with a face-to-face interaction that will result in a no-questions-asked, no-criminal-charges-brought surrender in Michigan, you can go to any police station, fire station, or hospital, anywhere in the state.