Missouri has about eight babies abandoned anonymously each year. That’s according to state Rep. Jim Murphy, R-St. Louis. He has pre-filed House Bill 121, which would fund the installation of more drop-off boxes for parents to anonymously surrender their newborns.
“They cost about $12,000 to $15,000 to install,” Murphy told Missourinet’s Show Me Today program. “So, you know, it’s something that finding funding for is not impossible, but it’s burdensome. And since we see the great value in them, we just want to accelerate that.”
A Mehlville fire station near St. Louis has Missouri’s lone baby box. The station rescued its first baby from the box earlier this year.
The drop-off boxes are climate controlled with a bassinet inside and they immediately notify emergency responders when a baby has been placed in the box.
Murphy successfully passed a bill three years ago to allow baby boxes to be placed in Missouri hospitals and fire stations.
“It’s a program that just needs to grow,” said Murphy. “There’s no reason for any child to be abandoned anywhere other than a safe place. It will mean everything to the state to have a program that will save more lives.”
He said his bill is “a win-win.”
“Some (babies) are found in dumpsters. Some are given to first responders. Unfortunately, the ones that you find in dumpsters are relatively poor conditions or don’t survive at all,” he said.
Murphy’s goal is to have at least 100 baby boxes installed over the next four years.
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