On 6 January 2000, we launched Safe Place for Newborns of Minnesota. It was a program with a simple premise: any mother, who might otherwise abandon her newborn, could leave her baby at a hospital instead – no questions asked.

We (a team of three) began in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area. We had to persuade the county attorneys to decline to prosecute a mother who would use the program, and the hospitals in those counties to provide care for the infant and the mother, while preserving the mother’s anonymity. The press conference on 6 January 2000, was to announce that all the counties were on board, and the program officially began. We then began to explore the idea of legislation, and on 31 January, we held another press conference announcing the launch of legislation – the Safe Place for Newborns law, which was passed on 18 April, and enacted on 19 April, 2000.

Safe Place for Newborns (SPN) was established as a non-profit in January of 2000, and I was honored to serve as Executive Director. In addition to helping to lobby the Minnesota law, I assisted other states with drafting their legislation as well, passing on lessons we had learned throughout our process. 

As the non-profit developed, I was interviewed by national and local TV, radio, and newspapers. I traveled the state making presentations about SPN. I shamelessly said, “Yes!” every time anyone said, “Is there anything I can do?” Although I was the only employee, dozens of passionate volunteers were engaged in the SPN mission. I found that almost everyone had an answer when I asked the question, “What do YOU think SPN should do next?” and many of these ideas became integral to our plans. From web site development to graphic design, to helping established a 24/7 telephone crisis line, it is hard to imagine SPN without these dedicated volunteers whose work became the backbone of the mission.  

I reached out to friends, asking them to connect me with those who had expertise in the arenas of crisis counseling, social work, media, education, non-profit work, mother and child care, hospitals and hospital administration. These invaluable meetings and conversations became the frame work for SPN’s annual education strategy, which was written up as a manual, and presented at the first national meeting of SPN chapters. 

Safe Place for Newborns PSA

Here is a PSA that we created for SPN. The narration is limited to the last 12 seconds, making the spot economical to adapt. The PSA was released in numerous languages. Additionally other states were able to use it, adapting it to the particulars of their state laws.

Of course, the star of our PSA is the little baby, who was about a week old when we filmed. A few days before that, I had been giving a SPN presentation, and mentioned that we were creating the PSA, and were hoping to find a mother of a newborn baby, willing to work with us. After the presentation, a woman came forward. She smiled and opened her coat – and we both started crying. The day of the shoot, as the mom handed her baby to our actress, she kissed the her baby’s forehead and said “You are going to help save babies’ lives.” It was a sober and beautiful moment as we all looked at each other. This mother’s words made us realize once again that SPN was so much more than a “good thing,” it was the work of saving lives. 

 

Today

As the SPN law became part of the vernacular of hospitals, schools, state programs, the need for a non-profit diminished… which is exactly how it should be. Although the non-profit closed its doors, the work of SPN has continued. To date, SPN laws have saved hundreds of newborn children, because their mothers safely relinquished them at hospitals rather than abandoning them in a dangerous place. 

What a privilege to have been involved in such work.

“The founding purpose, and continuing mission, of Safe Place for Newborns
is to save the lives of newborns in danger of abandonment
and to help preserve the health and future of their mothers.”