Wisconsin Safe Haven: Racine woman convicted of killing newborn educates others
RACINE, Wis. - Learning from her worst mistake, a Racine mother found guilty of killing her newborn baby in 2011 is now using her story to educate others on Wisconsin's Safe Haven law.
Breanna Gering said she never knew about Wisconsin's Safe Haven law until she was in prison. She hopes her experience can save lives.
Warning: Some viewers may find details in this story disturbing.
For the first time since that August 2010 day that changed Gering's life forever, Tuesday's return to Ascension All Saints Hospital in Racine moved the now 36-year-old to tears.
"In that moment, it was uh... surreal and terrifying," said Gering. "Those choices haunt me every day, and they'll never go away."
Breanna Gering
Then 23, Gering went to work at a local restaurant that morning, in denial of her pregnancy. She gave birth to her daughter in a bathroom stall.
"It was a terrible thing because I felt frozen, and... I didn't get her," said Gering. "I didn't get her out of the toilet."
Instead of speaking up, she placed the baby in a dumpster and went to the hospital for care. It didn't take doctors long to determine she'd given birth.
Gering pleaded guilty to first-degree reckless homicide the next year and a judge sentenced her to nine years in prison.
It was there that she learned she had options while in crisis.
Safe Place for Newborns
"I had some really great people that came into my life there that said, 'You know, this doesn't have to be the end,'" said Gering.
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Ten years earlier, Wisconsin passed its Safe Haven law which allows mothers to leave their newborn child with any police officer, firefighter, hospital employee or EMT within 72 hours of birth, no questions asked.
C8412, 16:19:38 tb "It's a way to give moms and babies a second chance, and we just want people to know the option is out there," said Tricia Burkett, Safe Place for Newborns.
Breanna Gering
Burkett said the law has helped save 300 babies in Wisconsin. They're hoping Gering's story can continue that legacy.
"We want to make sure that everyone knows about the law," said Burkett.
"Her life doesn't have to be over," said Gering. "Her child's life doesn't have to be over."
April is Safe Haven Awareness Month, and Safe Place for Newborns is the only nonprofit in Wisconsin focused on educating the public and advocating for the state's Safe Haven law. They staff a crisis line that is always available for mothers. They can call 1-877-440-BABY (2229). The nonprofit runs completely on donations, which can be made online.