Legal & ethical support for newborn safe havens.

• Author: Cundiff, Geoffrey W.

In May 2010, Providence Health Care in Vancouver announced the opening of the first newborn safe haven in Canada at St. Paul's Hospital. Four months later, Providence confirmed a healthy baby was dropped off at the hospital, setting off a further round of national and international media attention. And now this year, following Providence's lead and with their consultative support, Covenant Health implemented two newborn safe havens at the Misericordia and Grey Nuns Community Hospitals in Edmonton. Known as Angel Cradles, the safe havens provide a means for parents who are unable or unwilling to care for their newborns to safely and anonymously leave their baby in a hospital bassinet, accessed via a secure, electronically monitored door discreetly located external to the Emergency Departments. Prompted by clinical experience, and a desire to provide an additional option when real or perceived barriers prevent parents at risk from accessing existing social supports, the Angel Cradles are a practical resource to mitigate tragic outcomes as a result of unsafe abandonment.

Known as Angel Cradles, the safe havens provide a means for parents who are unable or unwilling to care for their newborns, to safely and anonymously leave their baby in a hospital bassinet, accessed via a secure, electronically monitored door discreetly located external to the Emergency Departments.

Realizing this goal took a great deal of imagination and persistence, including extensive collaboration with provincial authorities and other internal and external stakeholders. First, from a legal perspective, since neither British Columbia nor Alberta have safe haven legislation (there is currently no safe haven legislation anywhere in Canada) it was important the Angel Cradle program work in concert with existing legislative requirements. Through detailed planning and candid dialogue we were able to confirm that, if a parent was either unable or unwilling to discharge their legal obligations in providing for the necessities of life, they could intentionally leave the baby at the hospital anonymously, with the caveat that no evidence of abuse or harm to the child was found upon physical examination. However, we were informed that no blanket claims of legal protection from prosecution could be asserted. The Angel Cradles had to promote safe abandonment. Any evidence of harm is automatically reportable to authorities, as we would report clinical findings of abuse involving...