‘We’re not going to judge anybody’: Baby dropped off at fire station over the weekend
By Abbie Petersen
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OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — A baby in a box, alive. And just hours old.
That’s what Omaha firefighters found on their doorstep last weekend.
Nebraska’s Safe Haven law does allow for newborns to be surrendered, but not like this.
A Saturday morning surprise was left on a doorstep outside Omaha Fire Station 21.
“The box appeared to be moving just a little bit. So they peeked inside the box and they did find a baby,” said Battalion Chief Coby Werner.
A baby boy.
“They thought that maybe the baby was a few hours old,” Werner said.
Werner says the child looked healthy, but he still went to the hospital.
Whoever dropped the baby off, was long gone.
KETV Investigates asked Omaha police about the “Safe Haven” law passed in 2008.
“That was just to allow parents to be able to surrender their newborn infant in a safe way so that that child could receive the care that they needed in the event that that parent felt that they were unable to provide that care,” said Lt. Tara Ackerson.
The law requires a face-to-face surrender, so this case would not count.
“It’s a very difficult decision for a parent to have to make. And we want to make sure that they understand that they are safe from criminal prosecution as long as they are within those boundaries of the law,” Ackerson said.
Also, making this an invalid case, the newborn has to be surrendered at a Nebraska hospital.
That’s different in surrounding states, where babies can be dropped off with firefighters and EMTs.
“However, you know, if they would drop it off at a fire station just like happened the other day, you know, we do our best to make sure that the baby’s safe and healthy and gets to the right places,” Werner said.
Data from DHHS shows 14 babies have been surrendered under the Safe Haven law since 2008.
Even though this case does not legally fall under the law, Werner is just glad the baby is safe.
“We’re not going to judge anybody. You know, the main thing is that, yes, the baby was safe and healthy. And, you know, hopefully, will have a very happy ending for that child someday,” Werner said.
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