Oklahoma legislator touts safe haven law’s success after discovery of Shawnee twins

Winchester was an author of the state’s safe haven law with then-state Sen. Bernest Cain, D-Oklahoma City. The law, which took effect in 2001, allows a parent to leave a baby up to 7 days old with a medical services provider or child rescuer without fear of prosecution.

Approved drop-off points include police stations, fire stations, child protective services agencies, hospitals or other medical centers.

"That just warms your heart,” Winchester said of last weekend’s happy ending. "Instead of headline news saying they found a baby dead in a trash can somewhere, you find a picture of two beautiful little kids that are safe and healthy and will have good homes. ... I said if we saved the life of just one baby, it made everything worthwhile.”

The Shawnee twins, a boy and a girl, were newborns whose umbilical cords had been tied off with small rubber bands. They were found in the back of a firefighter’s pickup at a Shawnee fire station Saturday morning after a woman called a city dispatcher to say she had dropped the infants off at the station because she was poor and was not able to care for them.

Shawnee police have been trying to identify and locate the mother to check on her safety and obtain family history and medical information for the benefit of the babies. They also have been trying to identify the father to see if he is interested in exercising custody rights.

So far they have had no luck.