I recently submitted a long letter opposing a “baby box” bill in Indiana (SB345), which is one of the worst bills I’ve seen in a long while. I can’t even call it a child welfare bill. It’s not even close. In any event, if you want to read my letter in opposition to the bill, it is here. Otherwise, as I’m apt to do, I also made two charts that show just how bad this bill is. It’s probably the quickest way to understand how SB345 will build an adoption-in-a-box pipeline.
PS: Understanding these charts may require some familiarity with state safe haven laws and their outgrowth: baby boxes, or what are euphemistically called “newborn safety devices.” My friend and colleague Marley Greiner has you covered here if you want to know more about what may be a core aspect of the future of adoption and placement—unless we act now to stop them from spreading.
Update: The Adoption-in-a-Box Pipeline
SB345 has now passed the full Indiana state Senate, with no amendments to address the core problem of the bill: off-the-books anonymous trafficking of infants for adoption. The latest illustration (immediately below) shows how that process will work, with direct baby box referrals from fire station to adoption agency to foster parents to final adoption, all happening in the span of one month and all without any required state oversight.
A PDF of this chart is also available here.
Previous: A Recipe for Corruption
A PDF of the chart is also available here. While the original bill has been amended, it did not touch these troubling aspects of the bill. They remain in the bill, which recently passed the Senate 46-0.
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