ATOKA, Tenn. (BP) — The officials of Atoka and the congregation of Gateway Baptist Church have a message for pregnant women who find themselves in desperate situations: We care about you. 

Atoka Mayor Barry Akin and the board of aldermen recently partnered with Gateway Baptist Church to place a Safe Haven Baby Box at the town’s fire station. The box, which became operational after a ribbon-cutting in early November, provides a safe place for a woman in crisis to surrender her newborn baby within two weeks of life, explained Jeff Gautney, Gateway’s missions and family pastor. 

“Most people may not be aware that Tennessee has a Safe Haven Law,” Gautney explained. Passed in 2001, this law allows mothers of newborns to surrender unharmed babies within two weeks of birth to designated facilities without fear of prosecution. 

As of July 2022, Secret Safe Place for Newborns of Tennessee says more than 100 babies have been surrendered to facilities in Tennessee since the law was enacted, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reported. Tennessee currently has 10 Safe Haven Baby Boxes across the state. 

“The Atoka box is located on the outside of the fire station,” Gautney said. “It is climate-controlled, and when a young woman opens the box, a silent alarm sounds. When she places a baby in the box, another silent alarm sounds,” alerting responders at both the fire and police departments as well as a team at Gateway. 

“When a baby is placed in the box, members of our church are notified by the silent alarm, and they stand ready 24-hours a day to care for the baby until he or she can be transported to a hospital and transferred to the care of the Department of Human Services,” Gautney said. 

The box also contains a package of resources for the mother, including a hotline number and information on how and where to obtain postnatal care for herself, Gautney said. 

Akin, also a member of Gateway, welcomed the partnership. 

“We had never heard of (the Safe Haven Baby Box) when Gateway approached (the town officials), but we were willing to look into it,” Akin said. 

“Given Tennessee’s stance on abortion, which aims to save the lives of babies, it was important to me and the board of aldermen to provide options to young women who find themselves in situations they did not anticipate,” Akin said. 

Tennessee’s abortion law, amended in April 2023, bans nearly all abortions at all stages of pregnancy except to prevent the mother’s death or serious risk to her physical health. Tennessee offers no exception to its abortion ban for rape or incest. 

Akin and the board of aldermen were impressed with the depth of services the Safe Haven Baby Box offers young women and their newborns, Akin said. 

But why does Atoka, a town of 10,000 people and ranked as one of Tennessee’s safest cities, need a Safe Haven Baby Box? 

Akin and Gautney agree they were looking for both a local and regional solution to help women in crisis. 

“As we examined the Safe Haven Baby Box, we learned that the nearest one is more than 60 miles away,” Akin said. 

Atoka sits 30 miles northeast of Memphis, a city in Shelby County of more than 600,000 people. According to Tennessee Department of Health statistics from 2020 — the latest data available — Shelby County led the state in the number of induced terminations of pregnancy at 3,346 out of a statewide total of 10,582. The state does not record reasons for induced terminations, such as those accepted by current Tennessee law. 

“We saw an opportunity to provide a regional solution,” Akin said. “We want women to know that they can place their newborn with us, and he or she will be safe.” 

Gautney agreed, noting that Shelby County also leads the state in infant mortality. 

The 2022 Child Fatality Annual Report from the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services confirms that of the 495 deaths of children under one year of age in 2020, Shelby County ranked highest with 89 deaths. Types of infant deaths by region are not reported. 

“There isn’t a Safe Haven Baby Box in Memphis, and most women don’t want to surrender their baby in their own hometown anyway,” Gautney said. “We are located 30 minutes outside of Memphis, so we can provide mothers in Memphis the anonymity they want and need.” 

For Gautney and other members of Gateway, the idea to participate in a ministry through the Safe Haven Baby Box came about after a challenge from Gateway’s lead pastor, Steve Carpenter. 

“After the Dobbs decision (in June 2022), our pastor challenged us,” Gautney said. “He said, ‘If we are going to be pro-life, we can’t just be that in word. What can we do to provide for young mothers in need?’” 

Members of the church who work as firefighters shared about situations of child abandonment they had witnessed, Gautney said, and the idea of the Safe Haven Baby Box began to shape. 

“We are thankful for the opportunity to partner with town officials to place this box in a location where it can be accessed by any woman in need,” Gautney said. 

Likewise, Akin is proud that Gateway approached the city and that the board of aldermen supported the initiative. 

“We are proud to be hosting the Safe Haven Baby Box at the fire department in our town,” Akin said. 

Most of all, Gautney has a message for young women in crisis: “Choose life,” he said. “You can make the courageous choice, knowing that there are so many people willing to help you and your baby. We support you.” 

If you are a parent in crisis, call or text the Safe Haven crisis hotline at 1-866-99BABY1 or visit www.shbb.org/parents-in-crisis.

(EDITOR’S NOTE — This article originally appeared at The Baptist & Reflector.)