It's been almost a year since the Baby Moses law was updated to allow the use of climate-controlled devices where parents can anonymously surrender their infants.SAN ANTONIO — Child advocates are praising the introduction of baby boxes in San Antonio, but as to when the safety devices will definitively be ready to go at fire stations remains unknown.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 780 into law on June 20, 2023, which expanded the state’s Baby Moses law to allow the installation of Newborn Safety Devices for families in crisis to surrender their babies at designated emergency locations like fire stations. “We’ve seen those instances where a trash can is the only option,” Allen said. “These safety devices completely minimize that interaction between a parent who has made a decision to safely surrender their child. This is another great attack on the Bexar County child abuse statistics.”“The number of infants that have been abandoned and abused that we’ve buried, it’s now 55,” Allen said.
Joe Arrington, public information officer with the San Antonio Fire Department, said there’s much work to be done as it relates to figuring out construction costs and annual maintenance fees related to the leased baby boxes. Assessing which fire stations are most suitable for the safety devices is also priority.