News Release: Little Rock Safe Haven Baby Box to be dedicated May 15

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LITTLE ROCK – The public is invited to attend the dedication and blessing of the Central Fire Station Baby Box at 4 p.m., Wednesday, May 15. The event will be held at Central Fire Station, 624 S. Chester St., Little Rock.

In the U.S. there are 228 Safe Haven Baby Box locations with 24 of those locations being in Arkansas, said Monica Kelsey, who founded Safe Haven Baby Boxes in 2015 on a mission to end infant abandonment.

“In just the last few weeks, we have had two instances of parents who have surrendered their newborn babies at our fire stations because they believed they had no other choice, for whatever the reason. Our ultimate responsibility in each of those cases was to protect the infant’s well-being. The installation of a Safe Haven Baby Box will ensure parents in crisis will have a 24/7, last-resort option to surrender their newborns and ensure the health and safety of the child,” Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said in a press release.

“I appreciate the support of Calvary Baptist Church, Chief (Delphone) Hubbard and the Fire Department and others who have worked to install the first baby box in Little Rock,” Scott added.

“Calvary Baptist Church funded the project to provide the first Safe Haven Baby Box location in Little Rock. The blessing occurs after a busy month of April with two infants surrendered under the Safe Haven Law in this community. Now mothers in crisis will have anonymity on their side with the addition of the Little Rock Baby Box,” said Kelsey.

The organization provides a confidential National Hotline, 1-866-99BABY1. Sixteen states have a Baby Box presence within their state. Kelsey said, “We have seen time and time again that preparation can save and change lives. We never know when or where we will be needed, so it is crucial to have options for mothers in crisis. I am grateful for local advocates who take our mission to their community.”

Since 2017, 44 infants have been safely and legally surrendered in a Baby Box. The National Safe Haven Crisis line has assisted with 150 handoff surrenders. Each year the numbers increase with more baby boxes available across the country. Surrendered infants are adopted by families who have registered as foster to adopt. The local department of family services coordinates the adoption process.

Arkansas Right to Life has promoted the Safe Haven Law through a billboard campaign that began in Harrison in June 2019. Since then, billboards have been placed in more than 30 Arkansas counties.

Rose Mimms, executive director of Arkansas Right to Life, stressed the importance of the billboard campaign and mothers knowing about the Safe Haven Law. The Safe Haven Baby Box hotline number is listed on all billboards.

“The Safe Haven Law can help a mother to safely surrender her child to an official location, hospital, law enforcement or manned fire department in Arkansas or anonymously in a Safe Haven Baby Box,” Mimms said.

The Safe Haven Law, enacted in Arkansas in 2001, is designed to protect babies from being hurt or killed by abandonment by parents who are unwilling or unable to provide parenting. Under the law, a parent may give up an infant anonymously at a hospital emergency room or law enforcement agency, but in 2019 the law was amended to include manned fire stations as a surrender location. The amended law sponsored by Arkansas Sen. Cecile Bledsoe and Rep. Rebecca Petty also approved the installation of newborn safety devices at surrender locations.

For more information about Safe Haven Baby Boxes email Kelsey at monicakelsey@safehavenbabyboxes.com.

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Arkansas Right to Life is the state affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee, the oldest and largest pro-life organization. For more information visit artl.org.

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Missouri Passes Pro-Life Law Barring Taxpayer Funds From Going to Abortionists and Their Affiliates

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On Friday Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed a law preventing taxpayer funds from going to abortionists and their affiliates.

Missouri already prevents public funds from directly paying for abortions. The new law helps further ensure that Missouri’s taxpayer dollars don’t indirectly subsidize abortion and abortionists.

The law is similar to measures Arkansas has passed over the years to prevent state funds and government contracts from going to abortionists and their affiliates.

Groups like Planned Parenthood divide their organization into regional and national affiliates. That can make it difficult to know if taxpayer funds given to one affiliate directly or indirectly subsidize abortion at another affiliate. This type of legislation helps address that problem by clarifying that abortionists’ affiliates cannot receive taxpayer funds at all.

As states like Arkansas and Missouri take steps to prohibit abortion and provide support for women and families with unplanned pregnancies, it’s important to make sure taxpayer dollars do not promote abortion.

Right now an amendment effort is underway that threatens to nullify all of Arkansas pro-life laws — including Arkansas’ laws against taxpayer-funded abortion.

Arkansans for Limited Government is collecting petition signatures to place the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the November ballot.

If passed, the amendment would write abortion into the state constitution, allowing thousands of elective abortions in Arkansas every year.

The amendment does not contain any medical licensing or health and safety standards for abortion, and it automatically nullifies all state laws that conflict with the amendment. That jeopardizes even the most basic restrictions on abortion.

The amendment also would pave the way for taxpayer-funded abortion in Arkansas by changing Amendment 68 to the Arkansas Constitution that currently prohibits taxpayer funded abortion in the state.

Arkansans have generally opposed taxpayer-funded abortion, but taxpayer-funded abortion through all nine months of pregnancy could become a reality in Arkansas if the abortion amendment passes.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Governor Signs Measure Providing $2M in Grants to Support Pregnancy Centers, Maternal Wellness in Arkansas

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On Tuesday Governor Sanders signed a budget measure providing $2 million to support pregnancy help organizations and maternal and infant wellness in Arkansas.

The funding will provide grants to pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and other organizations that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies.

For years, states across America have taken steps to provide pregnancy resource centers with state and federal tax money to support the services they provide.

This funding helps serve families at the local level without creating new government programs.

In 2022 Family Council worked with the legislature and the governor to secure $1 million for pregnancy centers. This funding provided grants to more than 20 pregnancy help organizations.

Last year we worked with lawmakers to renew this funding, and since then more than two dozen good organizations across the state have applied for this money and used it to give women and families real assistance when faced with an unplanned pregnancy.

S.B. 64 makes improvements to the grant program. It increases state funding from $1 million per year to $2 million. This puts Arkansas’ funding on parr with funding in other states.

The law also clarifies that “pregnancy help organizations” include nonprofit organizations that promote infant and maternal wellness and reduce infant and maternal mortality by:

  • Providing nutritional information and/or nutritional counseling;
  • Providing prenatal vitamins;
  • Providing a list of prenatal medical care options;
  • Providing social, emotional, and/or material support; or
  • Providing referrals for WIC and community-based nutritional services, including but not limited to food banks, food pantries, and food distribution centers.

The measure includes language preventing state funds from going to abortionists and their affiliates.

This legislation is something Arkansans can be proud of. Family Council is grateful to the General Assembly for passing S.B. 64, and we appreciate Governor Sanders signing it into law. We look forward to seeing the state implement the expanded grant program in the coming fiscal year.

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