Eagle Mountain family 'grateful' for Safe Haven law


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EAGLE MOUNTAIN — A Utah County family wants the state's Safe Haven law to get more attention, especially after a Pleasant Grove woman is accused of killing six of her newborn children.

Spencer Horrocks, 4, races up and down the sidewalks in front of his home, past a sign that shows his family celebrates adoption. His parents, Brenda and Brad Horrocks, have celebrated it four times and have children ages 4 through 13.

Spencer's case is a little different, though. He came to his parents from a birth mother who had tapped into Utah's Safe Haven law, which allows birth mothers to leave their children at a hospital, no questions asked.

“I would just hate to think what his life would be like if she hadn't placed him,” Brad Horrocks said.

“She wanted him to have a mom and a dad and a happy life,” Brenda Horrocks added. “And it was a pretty neat thing to witness that love she had for him.”

Watching the Horrocks family, it’s clear that there is plenty of love to go around.

The way things turned out, the Safe Haven law for this family was just another avenue for adoption. But without it, Spencer's life might be very different.

“I'm grateful for the Safe Haven law,” Brad Horrocks said. "It gives these children a chance at life where otherwise they wouldn't have a chance.”

Spencer is living the life of a 4-year-old who is in a loving family, where he can concentrate on important things like coloring and figuring out the kind of spell Harry Potter might put on a visiting news cameraman.

In the face of the unspeakable alternative — a mother harming her own newborns — the Horrockses want to spread the word: Safe Haven works.

A young smile proves it.

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Richard Piatt

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