Governance Committee Hears Update On “Baby Box” Install
Published on August 31, 2023
SAN ANTONIO (August 31, 2023) — The Governance Committee considered the initiative to install newborn safety devices at fire stations across the City of San Antonio. Exactly one year ago today, Councilman John Courage filed the Council Consideration Request, “Safe Babies SA.” At that time, the Dobbs decision had recently been handed down and with it the recognition that comprehensive reproductive healthcare had been stripped by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Texas Legislature. These decisions came after Texas led the nation for years in the number of neglectfully abandoned and murdered infants. This number would only likely increase as even more pregnant people found themselves in crisis. Newborn safety devices could not be installed in Texas at the time the Council Consideration Request (CCR) was filed, due to state law requiring those surrendering infants to physically hand the infant to an authorized provider.
In 1999, Texas became the first state to institute the “Baby Moses Law”. The law decriminalized the surrender of unharmed infants under 60 days old to authorized medical providers. This past legislative session, an expansion of the Baby Moses Law bill passed that will permit municipalities to install and operate newborn safety devices as of September 1st. These devices will allow mothers in crisis to surrender an unharmed infant safely and anonymously into a climate-controlled environment with immediate notification to a trained health/public safety professional.
The proposed City of San Antonio budget for FY2024 includes $438,000 for the installation of these devices in fire stations across the city. The Committee provided feedback that in addition to these devices, a comprehensive approach to address infanticide and abandonment should include a crisis hotline to connect residents to resources, and extensive educational campaigns on the Baby Moses law and newborn safety devices. The state has never allocated funding for the Baby Moses law since it went into effect over 20 years ago. This lack of readily available information results in the horrific situation we saw in San Antonio last month where a newborn was abandoned unsheltered for over 20 hours in 110-degree heat. This infant could have been safely surrendered without legal consequences.
The committee also heard powerful testimony from Bella Cobb, a 12-year-old who was surrendered under Baby Moses, who shared her story to promote expansion of the law, including newborn safety devices, and to inspire mothers who are at a crossroads.
Councilman Courage would also like to thank State Senator Jose Menendez, First Assistant District Attorney Christian Henricksen and Pamela Allen, CEO of Eagles Flight for addressing the Committee and sharing their support for the implementation of these live saving devices. Once implemented, San Antonio will be the first city in Texas to provide the extra level of safety for newborns and families in crisis.