INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana state commission has decided not to recommend the use of safety incubators for newborns abandoned by their parents after the state was poised earlier this year to permit them.
The Commission on Improving the Status of Children in Indiana studied the issue at the request of lawmakers and announced their unanimous decision Wednesday. The padded and heated incubators, or “baby boxes,” temporarily shelter babies.
The Indianapolis Star reports the commission made their decision amid concerns about cost and potential liability. The commission instead voted to focus on better educating people on the state’s existing Safe Haven law, which allows someone to give up an infant anonymously.
Legislation on the incubators had stalled, with some concerned it might cause more babies to be abandoned.