Addison Koie Was the First Baby Ever Surrendered Under Vigo County’s Safe Haven Program, and the Indiana Mom Who Adopted Her Had Struggled for Years With Infertility

After years of struggling with infertility, Brandi Koie of Vigo County, Indiana, became pregnant with a son. She had still felt she was meant to have twins, and, as WTWO Terre Haute reported, a baby girl was surrendered under the state’s Safe Haven law the fall before her boy was born.

That baby was Addison Koie, the first infant ever surrendered under Vigo County’s Safe Haven program, according to the Oct. 30 WTWO report. Brandi Koie adopted her, and the station told the story for Adoption Awareness Month, which falls in November.

Years of Infertility, Then a Son

WTWO, a Nexstar station in Terre Haute, reported that Brandi Koie struggled with infertility before she became pregnant with a boy. The station said she nonetheless felt she was meant to have twins.

The report describes the arrival of the baby girl as the answer to that feeling. WTWO’s headline called it the story of a local mother who had her prayers for a baby answered.

The station did not give the son’s name, the children’s ages or exact dates in its short report, and those details are left out here.

The Fall Before Her Son Was Born

The baby girl came to the family through Safe Haven the autumn before Koie’s son was born. WTWO reported that she was the first Safe Haven baby surrendered in Vigo County.

Addison credits her faith for her life and calls herself a testimony to God’s goodness, according to the station’s report. In honor of Adoption Awareness Month, the mother and daughter also thanked adoptive parents.

Safe Haven laws let a parent surrender an infant without facing prosecution. In Addison’s case, that choice by a birth mother is what made the adoption possible.

A Statehouse Message for Adoptive Mothers

WTWO reported that Brandi Koie has spoken at the Indiana statehouse as an advocate for adoptive mothers. One Statehouse event came on Nov. 18, 2025, when Indiana marked 25 years of its Safe Haven law, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

The Capital Chronicle’s account names Koie as one of the first people to adopt a baby under the law. She called it a “win for all” involved and said that when it is used properly, birth mothers who are not ready to parent get a second chance and babies in crisis are saved.

She also spoke to birth mothers directly. She thanked them, told them they are brave, loved and appreciated, and said her daughter has grown up knowing her birth mother loved her first and sacrificially, the Capital Chronicle reported. The same remarks were carried by The Republic of Columbus.

WTWO reported that Koie hopes her message reaches young mothers in crisis, showing them that adoption is an alternative to abandonment. She also thanked birth mothers for choosing to give their children a better future.

What Indiana’s Safe Haven Law Allows

Indiana’s law was approved in 2000. The Capital Chronicle reported that it followed the discovery of an infant who had died outside a hospital emergency room, and it lets parents surrender unharmed infants to emergency medical services providers such as hospitals and volunteer fire departments without legal consequences. Surrenders can happen in person or through newborn safety devices known as baby boxes.

The Indiana Citizen, a nonprofit news outlet, reported that the law was signed on March 17, 2000, as part of Senate Enrolled Act 330. Later amendments allowed baby boxes at hospitals and certain fire stations. They also allowed surrender at the hospital after delivery. Baby boxes were authorized in 2017, and they are temperature-controlled with silent alarms that alert first responders.

The age window has changed over time. The Indiana House Republicans reported that lawmakers extended the limit from 30 to 60 days in 2025, and that the law gives parents a secure and legal option without fear of arrest or prosecution.

The Capital Chronicle cited a spokesperson for the nonprofit that buries unclaimed children and adults as saying 31 infants have been surrendered in Indiana since 2017. House Speaker Todd Huston said Indiana has installed more baby boxes than any other state, and Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said the state should add more surrender locations.

Gov. Mike Braun told the gathering that Indiana is setting a national trend in honoring the sanctity of life. Bray called the law a good tool to protect newborns, and Monica Kelsey, the founder of Safe Haven Baby Box, described baby boxes as “mercy made tangible.”

Calls for More Education About the Law

Linda Znachko, who founded that nonprofit, has pushed for required education about the law, especially for middle and high school students, according to The Indiana Citizen. She said the mother of a baby known as Baby Haven “fell through the cracks” because she did not know she could surrender her infant safely.

Kelsey called the baby box a “vital second option” and said her nonprofit runs a crisis hotline for mothers. Marion County Coroner Alfarena McGinty said the law has not only saved lives but has given dignity, identity and compassion to the smallest and most vulnerable infants.

Sen. Jim Merritt said education would likely need to come from the private sector, since the General Assembly will not take up budget issues again until 2027.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: Daniel Schwen – CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons