Georgia’s first baby box creates the option for the anonymous surrender of infants

(GPB News) — A state law passed this year allows so-called safe havens, such as hospitals, police and fire stations, to install baby boxes for the anonymous surrender of very young children.

The first has been installed at the Henry County Fire Rescue Station No. 6 in Ellenwood.

Fire Chief Pat Wilson says in his 40 years of work, he’s never seen a baby surrendered. But he says the new baby box, the first in Georgia, makes it so that when a surrender does happen, there’s a safe and secure place to go.

“The baby’s placed in the box; there are no cameras,” he explains. “And at the end of the day, we have an opportunity to give that child an opportunity to live.”

There is a camera inside the box to help monitor the baby, but nothing on the outside. Georgia’s Safe Haven law provides immunity to a person surrendering a child that’s no older than about 6 weeks old. As of July, additional designated locations for surrender include ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care facilities, and staffed public safety vehicles such as a fire truck or police car.

A parent surrendering a baby to any of these places is not required to submit proof of identity if they’re not willing.

The box, which opens on the exterior, connects to the inside of the station. It’s ventilated and cozy, and alerts emergency responders when opened.

“From that point, we have 5 minutes,” Wilson said. For this box, law enforcement and fire station staff are able to respond to pick up the child.

The Department of Family and Child Services will then place the baby into foster care as long as they don’t have any medical conditions that need immediate attention.

The Henry County baby box, which costs $25,000 according to the fire department, was funded fully by donations. Four more boxes are planned for Henry County, given they raise enough money for them. Only one company, the Indiana-based nonprofit Safe Haven Baby Boxes, manufactures the boxes.

But politically, baby boxes can sometimes be a tough, bipartisan sell. And concerns have been raised about funding such initiatives instead of maternal and infant healthcare.

Georgia’s 2026 bill was sponsored by state Rep. Mike Cameron, who reassured fellow lawmakers during a meeting of the Georgia Senate Health and Human Services Committee this spring that the boxes come with no fiscal obligation.

The proposal was linked by Sen. Brian Strickland, chair of his chamber’s Judiciary Committee, to Georgia’s position as a state with limited abortion access.

“If we’re going to be a state that is pro-life, this is also notice to parents, to moms, that we’re all in and we’re willing to help you even if you think you have no options,” he said.

Also included in testimony for its support of the proposal was the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, which represents thousands of Christian pastors and churches who publicly support restrictions on abortion access in Georgia and neighboring states.

A close collaborator on Georgia’s Save Haven initiative, Amy Anderson, said she’d been working for three years to get the bill to a vote. Anderson cited a 2025 case reported in Columbus where a newborn was found in a dumpster.

“What we’re offering is a solution to that, so that when there are parents in crisis — that feel like they cannot parent a child — but they are too frightened to make other choices, that we give them one last safe anonymous option of of using the newborn safety devices,” she said.

While the fire chiefs in Henry County are quick to point out that their baby box is not taxpayer-funded, they hesitate to tie the initiative to any policy point.

“This is a safety device,” Assistant Fire Chief Frank Robinson said. “For us, it’s not about the politics.”

The station officially started operating the baby box on Aug. 28.