Safe Haven TV ads raise hopes, concerns

The Louisiana Department of Social Services has begun airing commercials that open with the cry of a baby, followed by the beep of a garbage collection truck. The truck lifts the trash inside while the crying continues, and a woman watches through a window.

After reading the description of these commercials, I had a hard time bringing myself myself to watch. I only made it through the first one before I'd seen enough.

These Safe Haven public service announcements are being aired to raise awareness of the Louisiana Safe Haven law, which allows parents to anonymously leave newborn babies at specific sites around the state.

According to this article in a Baton Rouge newspaper, The Advocate, the DSS has spent $100,000 on the campaign, of which $62,000 went toward the commercials. While the goal is to give desperate parents a safe place to leave a baby, there are other issues at stake.

Ellen Roseman of the American Adoption Congress recently e-mailed concerning this article: “Safe Haven laws have been widely opposed by most child welfare agencies. It appears that Safe Havens provide an easy answer to the problems created when a mother leaves a child in a dumpster or somewhere else. However, the numbers of children abandoned since laws have been passed have NOT DIMINISHED in any state.”

Safe Haven laws continue to be highly controversial. On the one hand, they give abandoned babies an opportunity to remain safe, but many people argue that providing better access to counseling, education, and preventative care will save far more babies as it reduces the number of parents who reach that form of crisis. Parents who are in crisis after the birth were usually in a difficult circumstance during the pregnancy too.

There is also the issue of having no medical, social, or family history for these babies. As they grow into adults, they may experience a general loss of identity, with no way to find out even basic information like their medical history, which is an important part of healthcare.

There's no easy answer to this dilemma. I hope that preventative services like crisis lines, parenting education, and preventative mental and physical health care will be as well publicized as the safe havens.