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15 years ago a law was passed allowing mothers in the state of Illinois to give up their newborn babies with no questions asked.

It’s called the Safe Haven Law.

Over 100 babies have been relinquished and adopted out to Illinois families since the law went into effect in 2001.

Under the law, a mother can turn a baby over to a hospital, firehouse or police station in Illinois. The child is checked out medically and DCFS is called.

DCFS goes through its dozen or so rotating adoption agencies to see which one is next to adopt out a Safe Haven Baby.

The next family on the list gets the call.

The Save Abandoned Babies Foundation wrote the law. The agency is pushing to improve it and while advocating for the newborns and the mothers.

The foundation was established as an advocate for the babies and their biological mothers. They are thrilled about those successes. But with 80 other cases of illegal abandonments–almost half resulting in the deaths of the infants, comes the stark realization that there is more work to do.

WGN’s Julie Unruh has more on the foundation and the families that have found joy because of the law.