I read this article today: “Disturbing details released in case of mom accused of throwing away baby.”

INDIANAPOLIS – A woman accused of throwing her newborn baby in a trash can at Indianapolis factory was formally charged Wednesday for the incident, which was reported last Friday.

Police said Briana Holland, 22, gave birth to a baby boy in the restroom of the United Technology Carrier Corporation building in the 7300 block of West Morris Street. A maintenance worker at the factory discovered the baby in a trash can.

I’ll spare you the details of exactly what she did to her newborn. It’s horrifying enough that she threw her baby away with the expectation that he would die. 

But what is really sad is that there are laws in place in all fifty states to protect babies in exactly these circumstances—babies whose mothers absolutely do. not. want. them.

It’s called the Baby Safe Haven, and it means that a woman who has given birth to a baby she does not want can drop that baby off at specified locations (i.e. fire stations, emergency rooms, and more, depending on the state) and leave, no questions asked.

Capt. Mike Pruitt with Wayne Township Fire Department said that one of the saddest aspects of the case is the fact that there is a fire station directly across the street from the factory. According to Indiana’s Safe Haven Law, the baby could have been dropped off at any fire station, police station or hospital emergency room, no questions asked.

“We continue to drive this message home over and over again. Hopefully, it will sink in. If there is anyone out there that runs into this same situation, we hope that they will make the right choice and bring the child to a police station, fire station or hospital,” Pruitt said.

If you know someone who is pregnant and doesn’t want her baby and might be prone to doing something drastic like this woman did, please inform her about Baby Safe Haven. All she has to do is look up her state and find out exactly where she can drop her baby (and how old the baby can be in order to qualify – from 3 days to 90 days).

Please do spread the word so that anyone who is contemplating what this woman did would opt instead to give her child a hope and a future with an adoptive family who would love and raise her/him as their own.

Spread the word and help save lives. With Safe Haven, no one ever has to abandon a child again.