The deaths of two abandoned babies left out in the elements became foundational in establishing Indiana’s Safe Haven Law.
After the discovery of these babies, the state’s opinion on parents who couldn’t care for their babies shifted, which is why there are safe haven laws today.
Here’s what to know.
Who are Baby Ephraim and Baby Jacob?
Baby Ephraim was a baby found dead outside a hospital emergency room on Jan. 26, 2000. He died of hypothermia.
While the parents clearly wanted their baby to receive the care he needed, it was determined that the fear of prosecution is what deterred the parents from handing their child directly to a nurse inside the hospital.
Indiana had been mulling legislation like many states across the country, but Ephraim’s death would solidify their decision and on March 24, 2000, then-governor Frank O’Bannon signed the Indiana law .
Although the law didn’t exist to help Ephraim, it should have saved Baby Jacob.
Just a year later, on Dec. 8, 2001, Jacob was found dead in a trashcan by workers outside a laundromat. He was wrapped in a sheet, several shopping bags and a trash bag. He still had his umbilical cord attached to his tiny body.