A video on CNN caught my eye. The title, "Crying Mom Gives Up Baby," piqued my interest. Add into the fact that it featured fire fighters and it hit high on my interest radar. I went into it with trepidation, of course.

In the general public hierarchy of birth mothers, mothers who relinquish via the Safe Haven system are not too far from the bottom rung. Now, don't read into what I said. I said that's how the general public tends to view mothers... more

I think if I've made on thing clear over a majority of my blogs is that I believe expectant parents need to be given a full view of their options. Not a rosy, one-sided view of adoption. Not a rosy, one-sided view of parenting. They need all the information! The good, the bad, the downright scary. Both adoption and parenting have all of the above and more. But apparently informing parents about all of their options is asking too much.

At least for the school... more

Firefighters in Florida received a little baby girl from an unidentified woman late on Tuesday evening. Florida is one of the states that has a Safe Haven law, allowing mothers to take their child to a designated spot, often a hospital, fire department or police station, without suffering negative consequences. Anonymity is protected.

Right now, the newborn is healthy and safe. For this, we can rejoice. The newborn was not harmed and is being... more

I know a few adoptees who are staunchly opposed to safe havens and are actively working to defeat them. One such adoptee in my state requested statistics from every county in the state. She found that in our state at least, safe havens are not the deterrent that they were designed to be.

Her major issue in opposing safe havens is the lack of ability to find one's identity or medical information if abandoned through a safe haven. If safe havens really were effective in saving babies, I could say that feat trumped the identity issue. However, I am just not... more

I worry what becomes of a woman as she disappears into the night after dropping her baby off at a safe haven. Does she not matter? Is she some despicable creature worthy of no concern? On the other hand, is she mentally ill and in critical need of some support? Can she walk away from her child like that and be okay with her decision in years to come?

Will she be tormented by what she has done? No one can help her if no one knows, right? If she must relinquish in secrecy, will she ever tell anyone and get the help that she needs? If birth mothers suffer... more

Blogger Coley recently wrote about safe havens. She referred to this article which discusses the subject. Safe havens are another issue in adoption that is often debated with many strong and differing opinions.

Here are a few other opinions on the subject. Read ... more