By David Taylor, Managing Editor
A teen mother voluntarily surrendered her newborn child to the Sheldon Fire and Rescue personnel on Monday during operating hours and will not face any charges since she followed the so-called Baby Moses laws of the state of Texas.
The Safe Haven Law, also known as the Baby Moses law, allows parents who are unable to care for their child a safe and legal choice to leave their infant with an employee at a designated safe place, particularly a hospital, fire station, free-standing emergency centers or emergency medical services (EMS) station. The baby receives medical care and is then placed with an emergency provider.
According to Sheldon VFD Fire Chief Sidney Webb, it’s a first for the department.
“I’ve been here as a fireman since 1972 and became chief in 1987 and we never had an incident like this before,” he said.
Webb said he was sitting in his office at the station on 7601 Uvalde Road on Monday going over some training records when he received a phone call around 10:19 that morning.
“The caller was a young-sounding girl, and she gave me her name and told me she had just delivered a baby and wanted to know if I and the fire department would accept the baby,” he said.
“I want to make sure she’s in a safe place,” she told Webb.
Webb put her on hold, walked down to his assistant chief’s office and discussed what was going on and immediately called South Lake Houston EMS to begin heading to the station.
The frightened teen said she had just delivered the baby a few hours earlier.
Webb returned to the phone and told her they would accept the baby.
He called dispatch to alert them of the situation and asked the sheriff’s department to come and meet the girl and check if there was anything else that needed to be done.
Ten minutes later, the teen drove up into the fire department driveway, swaddling the baby in one hand and driving with another.
“She immediately rolled down the window and handed the baby off to South Lake Houston EMS personnel and they began to evaluate her and then rushed the baby girl to Texas Children’s Hospital.
Webb said they didn’t ask a lot of questions, but she was determined about giving up the baby to a safe place.
“She was crying and clearly upset,” Webb said. His wife, Leila, walked over to comfort her.
The young mother requested to stay and speak with law enforcement which is not required via the law.
The chief said he believes she knew exactly what the Baby Moses law was, and she took advantage of it to preserve the life of her baby.
“That’s the benefit of this law. It helps prevent a young, confused mother from making a bad decision. The baby could have been left in a ditch, dumpster, or could have died,” he said. That could have incurred prosecution, he said.
“That baby will outlive us now and hopefully have a chance in life,” he said.
The only other incident like that Webb recalled was when he was riding the ambulance, he made a call where the young lady had delivered the baby and was ready to place the baby in a hole that she had dug.
“Her parents walked up, saved that baby, and we transported it to Gulf Coast Hospital in Baytown.
Following the drama on Monday, Webb discovered that many of his own staff and firefighters were unaware of the law and on Wednesday, they were creating protocols for all personnel to follow.
Webb, who has assisted in the delivery of babies before, was shaken by the ordeal.
“My heart was just pounding,” he said.
Webb and his wife are both Christians and were happy they could be part of saving a baby’s life.
From the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services website is a brief qualifying list for the Baby Moses Law:
–Your baby must be 60 days old or younger and unharmed and safe.
–You may take your baby to any hospital, fire station, or emergency medical services (EMS) station in Texas.
–You need to give your baby to an employee who works at one of these safe places and tell this person that you want to leave your baby at a Safe Haven.
–You may be asked by an employee for family or medical history to make sure that your baby receives the care they need.
–If you leave your baby at a fire or EMS station, your baby may be taken to a hospital to receive any medical attention they need. Remember, If you leave your unharmed infant at a Safe Haven, you will not be prosecuted for abandonment or neglect.
For more information, go to the Baby Moses Project External Link or call the Texas Baby Moses Hotline 1-877-904-SAVE (1-877-904-7283).
Who said the baby was unwanted??
Did David Taylor personally make that assumption and decide to include such a judgmental descriptor of this mother? Unless Mr. Taylor knows for certain the baby was unwanted, he took it upon himself to disseminate inaccurate (or unknown) information. Reporters are to be objective messengers, not lead readers to form an opinion by the title alone. This is precisely why society holds negative opinions on birth mothers who selflessly make responsible plans for their children. Safe Haven laws exist to save lives by providing legal options to parents who are not prepared or choose not to raise their children themselves. Please do better by considering all perspectives on why Safe Haven laws are utilized.
It is shocking to learn fire station employees were unaware of Safe Haven laws Since they have been in existence since 1999. The fact that no policies exist or training has taken place to receive a safely surrendered infant is hard to believe. Texas has consistently had one of the highest infant abandonment rates in the country and was the first state to have Safe Haven laws. Thank God this mother did not hang up when she was put on hold. Gratefully, this incident has spurred this fire department to get updated on legislation, policies, and training. Hopefully, celebrating this life saved will lead the charge for other Safe Haven locations (designated emergency providers) to do the same.
Can we acknowledge how brave this mother was in ensuring the safety of her baby? Let’s highlight the fact that Safe Haven laws work and awareness is key. There are also resources to support parents in crisis at no cost to them including medical care for moms who have just delivered a baby. There was no mention of that in the article.