advertisement

Lake in the Hills family: Safe haven law works, despite 60-day wait

Megan Paul's birth mother was alone in a bathtub when she delivered the tiny girl in December 2014, weeks before she was due.

Desperate, the mother called an ambulance and was taken to a hospital in the South suburbs.

The mother told doctors she needed to give up the preemie, but she had questions.

How do you know a family is going to want her? Will they take good care of her? Will they love her?

Two days later, Jenny Paul got a phone call from Arlington Heights-based St. Mary's adoption agency.

She and her husband, George, had been waiting four years to adopt a child. They had been presented with several matches that didn't work out and were growing tired of the process.

So, they were only cautiously optimistic when the adoption counselor told them a safe haven child was available.

When Jenny went to the hospital to meet the baby - whom she later named Megan, in honor of several Megans who played a role in her adoption process - she was smitten.

“The first time I saw her, I was in love,” she says. “But it wasn't about us, however it played out. It was about this baby, at this time, that needed us.”

The couple would be tested during the next few months. Megan was in fairly good health, but she was small and had to stay in a neonatal intensive care unit for 30 days.

  Megan Paul was left at a safe haven by a birth mother who worried if Megan would end up in a loving home. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com

Hoping they would eventually be the adoptive parents, the Pauls stepped up, traveling more than an hour from their home in Lake in the Hills several days a week to be with the baby - all while constantly fearing the birth mother would change her mind and ask for return of her parental rights within the 60 days allowed by law.

“It was horrible,” Jenny says. “We were petrified. There was so much heartache.”

Despite the pain of waiting, Jenny says she is proud of Megan's birth mom for using the safe haven law.

“It's great that the birthparents are protected by this law,” she says. “I love that it is truly anonymous and it really does work.”

  Even though an adoption wasn't guaranteed, Jenny and George Paul of Lake in the Hills started visited their daughter, Megan, in a neonatal intensive care unit more than an hour away after she was left at a safe haven by her birth mother. Son Dylan, 6, also is adopted, but through conventional means. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com

Since bringing Megan home nearly two years ago, the Pauls have attended gatherings with other Chicago-area families that have adopted safe haven babies.

They were moved to tears the first time they saw the other children, as they smiled, laughed and played together.

“It's crazy to think,” Jenny says, “what could have happened if this law didn't exist.”

How Illinois safe haven law works

Safe haven baby ends St. Charles couple's 8-year wait to adopt

Birth mothers of suburban safe haven babies told: 'You're our angels'

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.