Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Religion News
The Question of the Baby Box

The Question of the Baby Box

Last updated on: April 11, 2023 at 11:34 pm by Mary Pezzulo

0 Comments

The Question of the Baby Box 2023-04-11T23:34:31-04:00 Mary Pezzulo

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

the feet of a newborn baby

image via Pixabay

I was reading an article about a Florida proposal to install anonymous baby drop boxes in fire stations.

The drop box is essentially a slot on the outside wall of the building with no camera watching so that mothers in desperation can surrender their babies: “instead of dumping them in trash cans or along roadsides,” as the author, Terry Spencer, puts it. It’s a modern version of the foundling wheel. It is already legal in Florida to surrender your baby at a hospital or fire station within seven days of giving birth with no questions asked; there are similar laws in all fifty states. The dropbox just adds an extra layer of anonymity. No one has to see the face of the person surrendering the baby. You slide the baby through the slot into a temperature-controlled bassinet, and the door automatically locks behind them. A hospital worker or firefighter will go and get the baby within two minutes. The baby will then be put up for adoption.

As for Mom, “a bag containing instructions and maternal medical advice pops out,” and she’s on her way. The surrogate mothers in the televised version of The Handmaid’s Tale got ice cream as a reward for having a baby, but birth mothers in Florida just get medical advice.

The thought of all this is making me queasy.

In the United States, we do not have guaranteed affordable healthcare for pregnant women and newborns. And even if you’ve got the money to pay for it, the care is not the best, especially in Florida where the drop boxes are being proposed.

In the United States, only 32 of the 50 states terminate the parental rights of rapists for a baby conceived in rape. A total stranger who forced himself on you could demand to co-parent and a judge might force you to comply.

In the United States, forty-three states allow marriage for minors in some fashion, and seven states have no minimum marriage age at all as long as a parent signs off.

Among industrialized countries, the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate. However, the number one killer of pregnant women in the United States isn’t an obstetric illness, but homicide— a combination of intimate partner violence and the ready availability of guns. And once the baby is born, the United States has an astonishingly high rate of child hunger as well.

And someone’s solution to this is anonymous baby drop boxes.

I can’t even begin to imagine the trauma a birth mother faces– even if she’s made the best possible choice, even if the adoptive parents are wonderful. I know some fantastic adoptive parents, but there’s always trauma involved. I can’t imagine blithely ignoring the trauma of a mom in difficult straits and expecting her to dump the baby in a box.

What happens if a mother in dire straits squeezes out the baby unassisted, stuffs them in a box and then dies of childbirth complications somewhere else?

What happens if the embarrassed parents of a pregnant teen decide to punish her by forcing her to give birth unassisted, and then stealing the baby and putting them in the box to protect their reputation? What if an angry paranoid abusive spouse wants to hurt his wife when she’s recovering from childbirth and there’s a baby box nearby? What if a psychotic babysitter or neighbor decides the mother is unfit and kidnaps the baby? These are just a few of the scenarios where having a convenient way to dump an infant could create a disaster.

In the richest country in the world, we have created such a terrible dystopia that anonymous drop boxes for human beings are being proposed as a solution.

It’s so overwhelming, I don’t know what more I can say.

Mary Pezzulo is the author of Meditations on the Way of the Cross, The Sorrows an d Joys of Mary, and Stumbling into Grace: How We Meet God in Tiny Works of Mercy.

Steel Magnificat operates almost entirely on tips. To tip the author, visit our donate page.

Religion News

intimate partner violence

newborn

Previous Post

April 10, 2023

A Backyard Miracle

Next Post

April 12, 2023 Of Seed Potatoes and Dandelions

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Thank you for bringing so much goodness into the lives of so many children.Ran across ..."

alwayspuzzled

The Passion of the Red Oak

"This current administration has had me reflecting on the Nuremberg trials and the like, for ..."

axelbeingcivil

On Traditionalist Bullies, and the Death ..."

"You're talking about supercessionism, the idea that Christians "replace" the covenant that the Jewish people ..."

Alex

Yes, the Old Testament is About ..."

"Oh I'm sure it did."

Mary

A Televised Execution is a Moral, ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Abuse Advent America American Christianity angel angels Annunciation Appalachia apparition apparition chaser apparition chasers apparition culture art art review babies baby baby Jesus Bad Lip Reading bad statue contest bath beauty Bible story blog blogkeeping blood book review Brandon Sanderson breastfeeding bus Catholic catholic conspiracy alarmism Catholic Oppositional Disorder Charismatic Renewal Charlie the Cat chastity Christ Christian idenitity Christianity and Judaism Chronic Illness clean clothing COD piece comedy compassion conscience conspiracy theory conversion cop-on-black violence Crucifixion cry of the poor culture Daesh Daily Saints death death penalty devotional diaconate diaper diapers dirty disability Donald Trump Dorothy Day dream drugs Eastern Catholicism Eastern Christianity education election election update Elsewhere on Patheos empathy environment Fear feminism film review fish flashback fluffy buns food Franciscan University of Steubenville Friendship Room fun Gabriel gardening gospel hair-splitting Heaven hell heresy Hillary Clinton history Holly the Witch Holy Spirit holy war Homeschooling homosexuality horror human dignity humor Icon idol immigrants infection inter-religious dialogue Interpretation of Scripture Islam Jesus Jihad Joseph joy laity and lay vocations lamb dinner laundry lent lgbtq literature love manners Mary Medicine and Science Meditation mercy mess milk misogyny Missouri monasticism monster motherhood mourn with those mourn movies movis music mystery nature neurodiversity New Pro-Life Movement news nonsense nostalgia O antiphons obituary objectification Ohio Valley Ordinary Time ordination Ordo Amoris parable paradox Passover peanut butter personal beliefs pets philosophy Planet Charismatic poetry politics polls poop Pope Francis Pope Leo power in the Church prayer prayer request prayers preferential option for non-violence president presidential election priest primary private revelation pro-life prophecy Public face of Catholicism Pure Flix Q and A race racism random rape rape. sexuality reader's request Reckoners refugee religious trauma ressurrection Right to life Saints saints and celebrations same-sex same-sex marriage satire scandal secular feasts seder Seven Joys Seven Last Words sex sexual ethics sexuality silencing six months skid row slavery social justice Speculative fiction spiritual abuse spoon stain story suffering suffrage suffragette Sunday Gospel temple Tenebrae Responsories Terror the exorcist The Friendship Room The New Pro-Life Movement Things I Learned on the Internet tin cup traffic true story tv review Uncategorized USCCB vice and temptation violence Virtue virtue and vice war Way of the Cross whimsy whole life women's ordination work of mercy Year A

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which book of the Bible contains the most direct prophecies about the Messiah?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Micah Zechariah Isaiah Psalms