Editorial: The safe haven alternative to baby abandonment

Last month, after a newborn baby was found dead on a secluded roadside near Wheaton, we extolled the virtues of Illinois' safe haven law.

And we urged proponents of such laws that protect babies and troubled moms to get the word out so other babies could be saved.

While the negative consequences of not choosing a safe haven was certainly evident in the Wheaton story of Baby Hope, nothing is better PR than seeing a smiling child with loving parents as featured in Tuesday's Daily Herald on the success of safe haven laws.

Through Daily Herald reporter Jessica Cilella and several photographers we met Megan, adopted by Jenny and George Paul of Lake in the Hills; Zoe, adopted by Brian and Heidi Wituk of St. Charles; and Trinity, adopted by Paul and Christie Haack of Roselle.

Their stories are heartwarming as opposed to heartbreaking. Each of their birth moms made a courageous choice to leave their baby anonymously at a safe haven, knowing a home would be found for the infant.

Trinity's birth mother "doesn't have to worry about hiding because she did something wrong," said Paul Haack. "She doesn't have to worry about being put in jail. She can rest easy knowing she saved a life and it's made everybody in this situation happy."

The birth mother left Trinity at a DeKalb fire station almost two years ago. Police stations, hospitals and emergency care centers are also places where babies no more than 30 days old can be left, no questions asked.

"There's a way out," Paul Haack said of moms who can't care for their infants. "It's just sad the message doesn't get out more."

In Illinois, 115 babies have been left at safe havens. Trinity was number 100. Over the same time period, though, 79 babies were illegally abandoned and 41 of those did not survive.

The moms who might be tempted to illegally abandon their babies are the ones these adoptive parents want to reach.

Those moms with infants in peril need to know about the law and it how it protects them and, most importantly, their babies.

Brian Wituk said of people who question why he and his wife are so public about Zoe's adoption: "You might not need to hear this, but someone you're friends with is friends with someone who needs to hear it."

To learn more about safe havens, call (888) 510-BABY (2299) or visit www.saveabandonedbabies.org.