Senior Steve Abbenhaus, childhood friend and soccer teammate of Brett Finbloom ’12, said he was completely taken aback when he found out Finbloom was hospitalized on Aug. 2.

“I felt awful, and I just went right to the hospital and saw him on life support,” Abbenhaus said.

A few days later, the tragic news followed suit.

“My heart just dropped,” Abbenhaus said. “It’s weird that someone that I’ve known for so long and so well passed away quickly. You know, I talked to him three days before it happened. I had no idea.”

According to police reports, Finbloom’s death was consistent with alcohol poisoning. By the time police arrived at the party in Carmel, Finbloom was intoxicated and without a pulse. Police are still investigating whether those with Finbloom might have waited too long to call 911 out of fear of arrest. Notably, it is uncertain if those at the party were aware of the new Lifeline law, passed just a month earlier.

The law grants immunity to minors who seek emergency assistance and cooperate with police when a person is suffering a medical emergency due to alcohol consumption. While there are no guarantees, this law, which could have potentially saved Finbloom’s life, was relatively unknown before his death, and the Carmel community still remains largely unaware of the law. The Lifeline law also sparks debate on whether it blurs the lines between encouraging student safety and enforcing the law.

History of Law

According to Jim Merritt, author of the Lifeline law and Indiana state senator, the Lifeline law began as a collaborative effort between himself and several groups of college students. They approached Merritt from schools such as IU and Purdue University, advocating the implementation of a medical amnesty law across the state.

“There were a variety of campuses where the students and the police had been working on some sort of good communication regarding emergency situations when kids would be over-served,” Merritt said. “For instance, Indiana University had a very good relationship with the police, and (if) some of this (policy) is already going on, it ought to be statewide and as a state law.”

The bill passed through the State Senate and House of Representatives with a unanimous vote and the law was officially enacted on July 1 of this year. Similar legislation has been passed in a growing number of states, including California, Colorado, Michigan and Texas.

According to Merritt, the main intent of the law was to save the lives of minors in danger of alcohol intoxication. He said that he believed the law was made because people shouldn’t be eternally punished for a single wrong decision made. “Sometimes individuals make poor choices, and just because you made a mistake doesn’t mean you have to die,” Merritt said.

Lack of Publicity

The law did not garner much media attention when it officially went into effect, and consequently, many students like Abbenhaus were unaware of it.

“Honestly, I had no idea about the Lifeline law until the news was churning a storm, talking about it (after Finbloom’s death),” Abbenhaus said. “…I guess I still don’t understand it fully. I think there should be more awareness about it.”

Merritt said that the bill had only been publicized up until the point when Gov. Mitch Daniels signed the law on March 16.

According to Brett’s mother Dawn Finbloom, there was little opportunity for lawmakers or IU students who helped create the law to publicize its enactment. There was a lack of money available to devote to publicity, she said, and the law’s timing was also inconvenient.

“I don’t think they had time to make a choice because the law was passed on July 1 and that the law came about a lot because of IU,” Mrs. Finbloom said. “School was over by July; kids had gone home. And there was no funding to get the word out about the bill, so there wasn’t the money to make posters and do things (to) get the word out.”

However, Merritt, Mrs. Finbloom and her husband Norm Finbloom have now started a publicity campaign in which they travel to schools and churches in the Indianapolis area to discuss the Lifeline law, along with the dangers of underage drinking, texting while driving and other dangers relevant to teenagers.

Mrs. Finbloom said, “Our message is, take care of yourself and take care of your friends. Be smart. However, if you do make a mistake and drink and you have a friend or acquaintance who has been drinking and needs help, then do the right thing and call 911.”

Hesitant to Help

One point of confusion in the Lifeline law regards which people will receive immunity. According to Merritt, it can either be an individual or a group of individuals who call 911 that can receive immunity. Additionally, the people who can potentially receive immunity have to stay on the scene until emergency help arrives, cooperate with the authorities and answer questions truthfully.

“Obviously if you are some person who is drunk and belligerent and in the corner, and you’re not helping, you wouldn’t be someone who would get immunity,” Mrs. Finbloom said.

Also, according to Abbenhaus, another misconception about the law is that it grants immunity for all cases of underage drinking. “If someone is dangerously hurt, that’s why the law was made,” Abbenhaus said. “It wasn’t made so people can drink, so if worst case they can just call the police and get immunity. That law was literally made…to save lives, not to abuse (the law).”

According to Abbenhaus, the issue of trust between police and students could possibly deter people from utilizing the Lifeline law in emergency situations. When many students see the police, he said, they become apprehensive and fear the possibility of arrest. Therefore, students may be less willing to communicate and comply with the authorities regarding the Lifeline law.

This confusion may result in student reluctance to the use of the law. However, Mrs. Finbloom said she highly encourages students to act in an emergency situation to prevent future regret.

“I do think there will still be some reluctance, and what we really want to do is discourage reluctance, because if you do not help, you’re going to have to live with your conscience,” Mrs. Finbloom said. “And I think that would be really hard to do for a lot of people.”

Controversy

According to school resource officer Phil Hobson, opponents of the Lifeline law claim that it will encourage students to consume alcohol without fear of the consequences. These people, Hobson said, are concerned that teenagers will take the Lifeline law as a license to drink excessively and then have no fear of either injury or arrest.

However, Mrs. Finbloom said she disagrees with opponents because she believes the Lifeline law is a last resource. According to her, it will not promote underage drinking because people don’t knowingly put themselves in situations where their lives are endangered.

“Well, I think you don’t want to get yourself into a position where you need a lifeline, because if you think about it, it’s the float with a rope that you throw to somebody hoping to save their life,” Mrs. Finbloom said. “You don’t want to drink where you will get into the position that you will sink and die, but if there is someone who is drinking that needs medical assistance, and let’s say the only people who can call are also underage drinkers, then the reason the law was enacted was so that that person could be saved.”

According to Hobson, as long as students have a clear understanding of the Lifeline law, this problem will not be prevalent.

“We would never want them to avoid calling emergency services because they’re afraid of getting into trouble,” Hobson said. “The safety of the kid is more important than worrying about whether or not you’re going to get into trouble. But we do need, as we educate about the Lifeline law, kids (to) understand what it is.”

Local Impact

Brett’s influence still resonates among the students here and can be witnessed around the school. For example, during men’s soccer games members of the team wear wristbands that have Brett’s initials and jersey number in remembrance of him. According to Lifelines sponsor Rebecca Overbey, students in Lifelines and Student Venture are working with Mrs. Finbloom to promote awareness about the Lifeline law and the consequences of underage drinking. Also, according to Mrs. Finbloom, a $500 scholarship has been set up in Brett’s name for a student who is involved with Lifelines or underage drinking awareness at this school.

Hobson said he believes that a local tragedy like Brett’s death has had a much greater impact than something that happens nationally.

“With young adults, you hear about tragedy so much across the country that unfortunately, sometimes people get used to it,” Hobson said. “But I think anytime you have tragedy in your peer group and in your community, it really does hit home and raise awareness because you realize it can happen here.”

Mrs. Finbloom said she wants students to learn something from Brett’s life and to prevent others from making the same mistakes.

“I would ask them to never forget and, any time when they are at a situation where there is partying, that they not forget Brett and that they remember how smart he was, how strong he was, how social he was, and that if this could happen to Brett, it could happen to them or one of their friends,” Mrs. Finbloom said. “So be very careful.”

Abbenhaus shared similar sentiments to Mrs. Finbloom’s regarding what he hopes students will learn from Brett.

“Every school has drinking problems. Kids just break the law. Brett was not the first person to die because of too much alcohol, and he won’t be the last,” Abbenhaus said. “But hopefully this law will gain awareness and start saving lives. I hope people use (Brett) as an example that it can happen to you. … Brett was days away (from) going to college, and I bet this was the last thing on his mind. He’s probably partied many, many times and (it) just happened that this one time, unfortunately, this one time he made the bad decision to drink, and he paid the ultimate price.”