To be horrified by these ‘baby boxes’?

[TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl]

This just came up on my newsfeed and I’m absolutely horrified by the whole concept of women abandoning their newborns in the US:

www.newschannel10.com/2023/02/10/newborn-surrendered-baby-box-installed-less-than-3-months-ago/?fbclid=IwAR1qz7BbrIeF390b6YXl4mAscw82cTvt-Bzwnp_LMaZMMCjBcpltEZGHav0#ldzrvrvoa7ecauugx04

Im NOT having a go at these women, and this is supposedly to prevent newborns being abandoned in unsafe places.

But surely the answer isn’t “Hey brand new mum with raging hormones, probably depression, who is tired, stressed and not thinking straight - put your baby here for a nice new family” - it should be about supporting mums with PND, improving practical support, healthcare and rights of new mothers and reproductive rights. Not just “Oh well you don’t feel OK today so probably best you don’t be a mum, here’s a little box to pop your baby in”.

My spidey senses were tingling so when I did a bit of further research, the woman who started these is, of course, fiercely anti abortion. So that’s what it’s all about. it’s about not allowing women their reproductive rights but making them go through a birth they don’t want, have the trauma of having a baby they don’t want but it’s OK, and the heartache of giving them away - no harm done ey 😡

It's ghastly that in 2023 women do not have a better option than to leave their baby in a box. I find this disgusting that women in a supposed first world country lack the support needed. It's quite obvious who it is designed for. It's the marginalised. I am so sad that these women have to do this.

OP, I think you need to walk a mile in someone else's shoes.

Think of the girls from backgrounds where having a child outside of marriage is absolutely unacceptable. Who have hidden their pregnancies. Of the very young who leave in fear of family members. Who don't have the access to healthcare or resources that you do.
Of the absolutely desperate who would otherwise be forced to abandon babies.

You've clearly never experienced that fear and desperation, but it's not that rare even in the UK in 2023.

I'd think putting a baby in one of these boxes, if you can't care for it, IS putting it first.

These people that are anti-abortion and support this, are supposed to be pro-life. Are they really being pro-life for the mother? Or is the baby the only consideration? Where is the care and love for the mother?

We live in a country where there are baby boxes. I'm relieved to know that babies aren't abandoned somewhere else but will be found in a safe and warm place for someone else to take care of. I imagine there are many other FAR worse circumstances that might force a woman to give up her baby and at least there are safe places to do so.

I think everyone everyone on here is on the same page about the women putting the babies first. They have had to carry them for 9 months. They are incredibly selfless to do this.

As awful as the idea seems when you first think of them, I think this is exactly why they must exist. Those moments of madness are going to happen with or without the existence of the baby boxes and I would far rather that a mum was able to leave them somewhere safe and warm than abandon them in an unsafe situation. The baby box provides the mum with information on what to do if they change their minds and will also facilitate help for mental health etc which I think is far better than the alternative.
Of course, in a perfect world they wouldn’t need to exist because healthcare and rights for women would be much better but they are not and this is part of the solution in a society that won’t change.

Not everyone wants an abortion AND instead raise the baby even with support. Abortion is not for everyone.

America's abortion rights and access to health care is savage and this is a result of that.

Also, whacking the words "safe" and "legal" in front of "abortion" doesn't magically make it a good option for everyone.

Given the awful abortion laws in some states things like this are even more important.

people do surrender babies for whatever reason and it’s much better to have a safe way of them doing so like this than them being left in a dangerous situation.

On these safe haven baby boxes there is a hotline mother’s can call and speak to someone before surrendering (if they would like to). I think these boxes are a really compassionate and good idea. Don’t forget this isn’t a service for mother’s who change their mind a couple of months in - the baby has to be 30 days or younger. These services are an alternative for women who would leave their babies to die of exposure… Touting the whole ‘we need better mental health services in the us’ is pie in the sky thinking and it would not be affordable. Even if it was affordable do you think mother’s like the one who was in the papers a few years ago who was raped by a family member and in an abusive relationship and left her baby to die in a park would feel safe to reach out to someone? It’s not nice to be reminded of these realities but for some mothers it is and this provides a safe way for them to allow their child to live.

That's alright then. Initially it sounded like they were just taking the babies and putting them straight up for adoption automatically.

You’ve never heard of the foundling hospitals?

It isn't either/or, either abortions or baby boxes. It's a solution to a problem where there is no other alternative at that point in time. Women and children need safe and healthy options across the lifespan of both.

I am pro choice and deplore what's happening in the US, but I think it's a big reach to think these boxes are a bad thing. Babies are abandoned in countries with good access to contraception abortion, including the UK.

What's better, safe in a heated box at the local fire station or left on a park bench (or worse) where they may or may not be found in time? I fully support a a system where the mother can come forward and get support/reunite with their baby of course.

It is being addressed. Mental health is complex. Of course there are services for women struggling, but not everyone will access them - or even know they’re struggling until they do something irrational. Hence why babies get abandoned. I really don’t see how boxes are a problem in this case - surely they’re the next best solution after seeking help.

A way of making abandoned babies more comfortable, safer, quicker to be found is surely a good thing?

It sadly happens everywhere, even with good access to abortion, welfare state, etc.

There not a new concept and in Italy the boxes were historically placed in a convent wall.

Better the boxes than a baby being found dead after being left in a shop doorway overnight.

When you systematically remove womens right to affordable contraception and legal and safe abortion this is all women have left.

some of those babies abandoned will be the product of rape and incest. Some from teenagers. Some from women so poor they just can’t afford to have a baby.

though I’d challenge ‘abandoned’ if taken to a baby box. Those mothers will have sought out these places and made a good choice so these babies aren’t abandoned but given the chance of a different path.

and we really need to discuss the actual efficacy rates of contraceptives in actual use not lab use before people dismiss abortion as a need.

the only people who benefit from restrictions on contraceptives and bans on abortion are the people who will adopt these babies rather than having to seek surrogacy or travel abroad to adopt

babies/newborns being surrendered has been dropping massively in countries with good contraceptive and family planning access most newborns up for adoption are removed children. Which really shows contraceptives and family planning has worked well if the aim is to reduce unwanted babies.

Abortion shouldn't be the go-to answer all the time. If a woman has all the info on her options and having considered them still thinks an abortion is the best thing for her then she should be allowed one.

But sometimes women don't want an abortion but feel that they don't have a choice. Everybody should have a choice in this situation. A choice to keep the baby or a choice to have an abortion.

Ask yourself why they dont have these boxes in the UK

I do ask myself that question every time I hear about a baby who has been abandoned in the UK and died.

Sorry but I think these boxes are necessary, those babies were not going to end up suddenly loved/wanted if the boxes are taken away. They will probably end up dead instead.

Access to abortions should be made exceptionally easy. I want a girl/woman to be able to have one the moment she decides she wants one, with the absolute minmum of faffing about.

I've never understood any kind of moaning like 'ooo but I know a woman who uses abortion as a form of contraception, she's had so many'.

So?

If that woman even exists, do you think it's a good idea for someone so feckless/irresponsible to have a baby?

It's awful.that many women do.not have access to.safe.legal.abortion ,but once a baby is born its a person in its own right and it's far better the baby is left safely than dumped outside to die
there is a really interesting documentary on sky documentaries called the Janes
about a group of women who performed SAFE illegal.abortion,s in the 60,s and 70,s and potentially saved many women,s lives

Your Spidey Senses! are off!

YABU