Helping Families in Crisis and Saving Lives of Newborns

By Steve Nicoles, Reporter

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By Becky Ogann

Story Created: Jun 5, 2007 at 5:40 PM CST

Story Updated: Jun 5, 2007 at 9:02 PM CST

IOWA CITY - A Solon teenager remains behind bars in Florida without bond. Authorities there have charged 18-year-old Ashley Truitt with murder for the death of her newborn daughter.

She allegedly tossed the baby down a hotel trash chute. Truitt was staying with her family and boyfriend at a resort in Pompano Beach, Florida.

On Saturday, authorities found a bloody knife in the hallway and the newborn's body in a trash bin.

Florida and Iowa have laws to prevent this very thing from happening to babies. They let mothers walk away without breaking any laws. Many people know about the law, even if it isn't being used. The Safe Haven Act has been around in Iowa for six years. It's saved eight lives.

Go to any medical facility staffed 24-hours a day and you will see the Safe Haven signs. There are also pamphlets which explain the law. You can drop off your baby within 14 days of birth and walk away without fear of conviction.

"Every week we go through 50 of these brochures, so people are picking them up," said Jay Cayner, Assistant Hospital Director, UIHC.

Legislators passed the bill in 2001 because of baby Chelsea. The newborn's body was found in a Tama County field. The baby's mother, Nicole Plum, went to prison. The point of the law is to give families an out.

"It's a great backstop for families in crisis in that it provides a safe alternative for the baby," said Cayner.

It's important for the family member to hand the baby over to another person. Coralville Fire Chief Dave Stannard doesn't want to come to work to find a baby on the doorstep.

"Obviously if we're here and we know about it we can deal with it, but if we're not here we can't deal with it," said Dave Stannard, Coralville Fire Chief.

The doors to the Coralville fire station are almost always locked. And if you knock the firefighters won't hear you, so the chief is working on a new plan.

Stannard is considering some kind of door bell or alarm system to alert his staff or the county that someone is at the door. It could help save a life.

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