The mission of A Secret Safe Place for Newborns of Tennessee, Inc., is to protect the most defenseless among us, newborn infants, by educating and informing women and communities of safe, secret options under the Safe Haven Law.

In October 2000, a newborn baby girl was found in a box in a shed in Townsend, Blount County, Tenn. Her 14-year-old mother had managed to conceal a pregnancy and gave birth to the baby alone in her home. Desperate to hide the pregnancy and the birth, the young mother abandoned the baby in a neighbor’s shed. The baby died of severe dehydration, and the teen was later charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to state custody.

In response, two Blount County women made it their goal to protect other babies from similar circumstances. Through the efforts of Shawna McConnell and Lisa Yount, as well as state Represenatatives Doug Overbey and Joe McCord, state Senator Bill Clabough, Blount County Sheriff Jim Berrong and Attorney General Mike Flynn, Tennessee passed the Save Haven Law.

This law, which became effective on July 1, 2001, allows mothers of newborns to surrender unharmed babies to designated medical facilities within 72 hours of the baby’s birth, without fear of being prosecuted. As long as the baby is unharmed and the mother acts within 72 hours of giving birth, she will not be prosecuted and is assured of complete confidentiality. Her baby and her secret will be safe.

If people don’t know about the law, it will not be used, and newborn babies will continue to be at risk for unsafe abandonment. To educate Tennesseans about this law, A Secret Safe Place for Newborns of Tennessee, Inc., was founded as a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization in Blount County to support and assist medical facilities where mothers can surrender their babies, to start a 24-hour Helpline to answer questions, and to inform our community that there is a legal alternative to leaving babies to die.

Scared teens and women who are attempting to hide a pregnancy must know there is a better option than abandoning their newborns. The goal of A Secret Safe Place is to expand its program statewide.

Knox County is one of the counties where the program currently is being expanded, and Children's Hospital is a participating medical facility that will accept surrenders of newborns. Children's Hospital also supports A Secret Safe Place by providing conference facilities for the organization’s meetings.

To learn more about A Secret Safe Place for Newborns of Tennessee, Inc., visit their website at www.secretsafeplacetn.org.