Safe Haven education legislation proposed by He Knows Your Name founder & state representative

Standing beside the grave of Baby Haven Grace Hope one year after the abandoned infant was laid to rest, He Knows Your Name founder Linda Znachko and Indiana State Rep. Julie McGuire announced proposed legislation aimed at preventing future infant abandonment through education.

The proposal would require Indiana middle and high school students to receive age-appropriate instruction about the state’s Safe Haven Law. McGuire plans to file the legislation for consideration during the 2027 session of the Indiana General Assembly.

The announcement came during From Loss to Law: Baby Haven’s Path to the Statehouse, a gathering at Washington Park East Cemetery on Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. The event also included a blessing of Baby Haven’s headstone and recognition of four other abandoned babies who tragically died.

“We cannot change what happened to Baby Haven, but we can decide what happens because of her,” Znachko said. “Her story can help save another child. We have to reach young people before they are in a moment of crisis, and that means making sure they understand the Safe Haven Law before they ever need it. Education equals prevention.”

Baby Haven was found deceased in Brookside Park in Indianapolis in September 2025. Znachko officially claimed the infant from the Marion County Coroner’s Office to serve as her advocate and guardian in death, gave her the name Haven Grace Hope and, through He Knows Your Name, laid her to rest the following month.

The proposed legislation would bring instruction about Indiana’s Safe Haven Law into middle and high schools (grades 6 to 12), helping students understand the protections available under the law, where a newborn may be safely surrendered and how someone can find help.

“Indiana has strong Safe Haven protections, but even the strongest law cannot save a life if people don’t know it exists,” Rep. McGuire said. “We cannot know every circumstance that leads a mother to a moment of crisis, and we should not begin from a place of judgment. We should make sure she knows there is a safe option available for her and her child.”

Rep. McGuire said the intent is not to create an extensive new curriculum or significant new costs for schools, but to provide students with basic information that could one day help save a life. Indiana’s Safe Haven Law allows a person to safely and anonymously surrender an infant up to 60 days old without fear of arrest or prosecution, provided there are no signs of intentional abuse.

“The goal is straightforward,” McGuire said. “We want young Hoosiers to understand what the Safe Haven Law is, what options it provides and where someone can turn for help. A student may someday be the friend, sibling or trusted person who remembers what they learned and helps someone else find a safe option.”

Znachko said the legislative effort represents an important evolution in the mission of He Knows Your Name: expanding its work from responding to tragedy to helping prevent it.

“For years, much of my work has begun after a baby has died,” Znachko said. “We make sure that child is named, remembered and laid to rest with dignity. But honoring these children after they die cannot be the end of the work. We have to ask what we can do before the tragedy happens.”

McGuire expects to continue working with the Indiana Department of Education and education stakeholders as the legislation is finalized ahead of the 2027 legislative session.

“At its heart, this is about education, supporting mothers and protecting babies,” McGuire said. “If making sure students hear this information means that even one person knows where to turn in a moment of crisis – and one child reaches a safe place – this effort will have been worth it.”

For Znachko, the effort ensures Haven’s brief life continues to have an impact beyond Babyland, a dedicated section of Washington Park East Cemetery in Indianapolis where babies are laid to rest, including abandoned and unclaimed infants who are honored and given names and grave markers through He Knows Your Name Ministry.

“My hope is that one day, because a student learned about the Safe Haven Law in school, a frightened young mother will know where to turn and a baby will be surrendered safely instead of abandoned,” Znachko said. “That is Baby Haven’s legacy. And that is why we are taking this from loss to law.”

About He Knows Your Name
Linda Znachko is the founder of He Knows Your Name ministry and author of the nationally recognized and award-winning book, “He Knows Your Name.” He Knows Your Name is rooted in the conviction that every life is sacred to God. He Knows Your Name Ministry gives children and adults dignity and honor in death by celebrating their life. Learn more at HeKnowsYourName.org.