The editor-in-chief of the Alaska Watchman observed in a report this week that a state senator who opposed a bill legalizing infant surrender boxes gave arguments that are often raised by pro-life activists about abortion.
Anchorage Democrat Löki Tobin was one of two state senators who voted against Senate Bill 9, which would allow the anonymous surrender of newborns to a baby box, a climate-controlled safety environment that alerts emergency personnel as soon as a child is placed in it, according to an April 7 report by Joel Davidson. Legal in 22 states, they are often installed at fire departments or hospitals to encourage mothers in crisis to not abandon their newborn in an unsafe environment but to surrender him or her to authorities. The bill advanced 18-2 on March 31.
“I have struggled with this legislation, and while I believe the intent is rooted in compassion, I cannot ignore the reality of how these devices will be used,” Tobin said when voicing her objections to the bill before the vote. “The deployment of these devices will lead to the abuse of women, and possibly the loss of their lives.”
She warned against the “potential misuse of these devices” and said she has researched and spoken with many colleagues and others about the boxes’ use in the states where it is legalized.
“And what I have discovered has been frightening,” she continued. “These devices will be used to traffic women.”
She argued that traffickers could threaten a victim with leaving her baby at the box if she did not comply with demands.
“The potential misuses for these devices far outweigh the benefit. And I share the goal with the bill’s sponsor and the stakeholders that we need to protect life and help women in crisis, but this bill is not rooted in best practices,” she continued.
She also expressed concern that the use of baby boxes does not require counseling, a waiting period, informed consent “before you make a life-altering decision,” or permission from the father of the child, saying he “will have no say.”
She also warned, “It will lead to the denial of rights, the denial of the child to know who they are, where they come from, to have an understanding of their medical history.”
Their citizenship could also be at risk, according to Tobin.
Tobin said she supports informed consent and seeks to “protect life, all life, and especially women’s lives.”
She further argued that expectant teen mothers could use the boxes to conceal their pregnancy from their parents and that this would deny parental rights and the right of the other biological parent.
Davidson wrote that, “Ironically, these are some of the exact same issues that pro-life advocates raise when warning about the abuses women endure from abortion.”
Davidson described Tobin as a “pro-abortion senator” who has supported “unfettered access” to abortion. He noted that in Alaska, minors can obtain an abortion without parental knowledge or consent.
“While Tobin opposed the bill aimed at saving infants, she has yet to express any misgivings about the potential abuse or coercion of women who are pressured into aborting their babies against their will,” Davidson wrote.
Tobin was elected to the state senate in 2022. Ahead of elections, the Alaska Beacon published a Q&A interview with her about her positions on various issues.
She told the Alaska Beacon, “Abortion must remain safe and legal.”
“Every Alaskan has a constitutionally protected right to privacy and I do not support any policy or law that infringes on that right,” she said at the time.
Kentucky, Arkansas, and Florida are among the states where baby boxes are legal. CatholicVote reported in January 2025 that firefighters in Deerfield Beach, Florida, got to reunite with an infant they rescued 21 years earlier through the safe haven baby box program. After a safe haven box was installed in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 2024, two infants were surrendered within a matter of weeks. In June 2024, a baby boy was surrendered at a box in Kentucky, marking the 50th baby surrendered since the Safe Haven Baby Boxes organization launched in 2015.