Letter to the editor - Sept. 24

Baby box shows love, support for women

It comes as a surprise to many that a state that promotes abortion tourism, such as New Mexico, would also have a law on the books that is incredibly compassionate to both mothers and their babies.

The New Mexico Safe Haven for Infants Act gives parents of an infant 90 days old or less the opportunity to surrender their baby without fear of being charged with abandonment. Law enforcement agencies, hospitals, and fire stations have been designated safe haven sites throughout the state. Understanding the importance of this law, our community wants to help mothers who are faced with the decision to surrender their infant through the Safe Haven Baby Box organization.

There are over 100 baby boxes across the country installed in state designated safe haven locations. These baby boxes are secure, safe, state-of-the-art boxes installed into an exterior wall of safe haven locations. The box can be accessed from the outside of the building in the case of a mother surrendering her baby and can also be accessed from inside the building by a trained staff member at the safe haven site.

The baby box is climate controlled in order to ensure the baby's safety and comfort and has multiple levels of alarms installed in order to ensure that the baby receives prompt care.

Portales and the surrounding communities have already raised the funds to cover the expenses associated with the baby box and a local contractor and electrician have donated the materials, labor, and time for the installation of the box. The pending installation of Portales’ Safe Haven Baby Box had been on hold for quite some time but the issue was discussed at the City Council meeting that took place Sept. 12 and the council voted in favor of moving forward once again.

Please take the time to contact your City Council members to thank them for the vote moving forward with the installation of the Safe Haven Baby Box. Though there is not much common ground between people who consider themselves to be pro-choice and those who consider themselves to be pro-life, this particular issue is just that.

We can all support this wonderful step our community is taking to show love and support to the women and children in our area.

We never know when the need for the baby box will arise and we will be so thankful that it is there if it does.

Melissa Flen

Portales