“Thinking about the abortion issue, this was an opportunity to help,” Ariss said. “If it saves a life, it pays for itself.”
The baby box was installed last year at the newly constructed Fire Station 41 at 601 N. Broadway, but the city was unable to utilize the baby box due to state regulations requiring a person to monitor the baby box 24/7.
This year, state Reps. Adam Mathews, R-Lebanon and Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, introduced legislation that was passed that would permit 24/7 video monitoring of baby boxes.
“I’m really excited about this,” Mathews said. “I proposed it while I was a council member and was glad to guide it through the Statehouse.”
The Lebanon location is the first Safe Haven Baby Box in Warren County, the 10th in Ohio, and the 170th in the nation.
Under Ohio’s Safe Haven Law, a baby box, also known as a newborn safety incubator, allows parents to anonymously surrender a newborn without facing criminal charges.
Once a baby is placed inside the box, the device locks and sends a series of alerts to first responders.
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