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Mother Uses 'Safe Haven' Law To Give Twin Boys to Phoenix Fire Dept.

(CBS) -- It's a controversial decision. A mother in Phoenix, Ill., took advantage of a Safe Haven location by dropping her twins off overnight at the local fire station.

The problem? CBS2's Dana Kozlov reports, the twins are much older than the Safe Haven law allows.

In tears, "She said that, 'this is the kids and I cannot do it any longer' and walked off," Phoenix Fire Department Capt. Spencer Sharp said.

She left behind the twin boys at 1:30 a.m. at the Phoenix fire station, a Safe Haven site where mothers can turn over their babies.

Sharp said he asked the mother if she was sure she wanted to drop the kids off, "and she said 'yes.'"

It was apparent, the Phoenix Fire Department says, that she had planned to drop off her sons. "by how organized she was," firefighter Thomas Schwenkel said. "The clothes were in the bags. She had all the diapers accordingly. She had their social security cards for both of them. She told us which one was allergic to certain items."

Chief Mickil Smith of the Phoenix Fire Department says, "This is a great example of a program working the way that it's supposed to work."

But the Illinois Safe Haven law allows babies 30 days or younger to be dropped off. These babies are much older, leaving questions about whether criminal charges could follow.

"I do believe the mother made the best decision for her, as well as the children. So I hope that there's no criminal consequences coming from this decision that she made, because there's a lot worse decisions that could have been made," Smith added.

A sopkesperson for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office said the office has no information on this case, and CBS2 was unable to reach the Phoenix Police chief for comment.

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