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North Carolina lawmakers still refuse to bow to the demands of Safe Haven Baby Box Inc founder/CEO Monica Kelsey that they change the wording of already House- passed HB139, to remove the requirement that boxes be limited to locations staffed by 24/7 “on site” personnel. I’ve written about this before, but the battle is heating up.
According to a news report from WBTV-TV Charlotte, Mrs Kelsey insists that the onerous and offensive requirement be dropped and the language be amended from “on site” to “on duty.”
While this argument might sound academic to the casual observer, what she demands is that the state should authorize boxes to be installed at unstaffed fire stations, that is, empty (for any number reasons including status as all-volunteer non-staffed stations) because trained personnel would be reachable for quick response through the 911 alarm system that alerts nearby emergency stations that a box deposit has been made. Discussing her legislative impasse on social media, Mrs Kelsey complains that the legislature just hasn’t caught up with her technology. IOW, North Carolina lawmakers are a bunch of Foghorn Leghorn Luddites.
Mrs. Kelsey, in full panic mode, says that if the bill is enacted as written, the law would “eliminate every fire station in the state of North Carolina” from installing a box. Moreover, she would be required to pull out her 2 boxes already installed under Home Rule, (Ashe County Sheriff’s Office and Gates County Rescue & EMS.) She neglects to mention that the boxes, installed in 2023 have gone unused–while the state’s trad SH law seems to be thriving. Sometime back, I corresponded with a woman opposed to the Ashe County box. She called it “the Sheriff’s vanity project.” Indeed!
The North Carolina Legislature recesses on July 31, and Mrs Kelsey hopes to get the Senate as well as House sponsor Jennifer Balkcom on her side, but they don’t seem to be moving over, despite the Kelsey Call to Action on social media. Rep Balkcom issued a statement published by WBTV-TV that reads in part:
“The language requiring that a ‘qualified establishment’ be staffed on-site 24 hours per day by an emergency medical technician or other emergency health care provider was carefully written to prioritize infant safety. The intent was to ensure that, should a baby be surrendered in a life-threatening condition, immediate medical attention would be available without delay. The ‘on-site’ provision was included out of an abundance of caution.”
Balkcom went on to say the language came out of year-long conversations with local leaders, health care professionals and emergency personnel across the state.
Whatever shakes out, it is always gratifying when lawmakers don’t immediately rubber stamp Mrs Kelsey’s dysfunctional fantasies.
Written during London Salon Writer’s Hour
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