Legalized Abandonment: Safe Haven Laws, Page 4

How widespread is the problem?

In a nationwide survey by the US Department of Health and Human Services, it was reported that 105 newborns had been found abandoned in public places in 1998. That compares with 65 in 1991. While these figures are only reported cases, the incidence of abandonment is rising.

Nice Idea, But...

Supporters of these laws and programs believe they will prevent crime and save lives, providing immediate medical care for the babies and reducing risks of exposure and death when babies are abandoned far from medical help.

Others praise efforts to protect children, but question long-term benefits for the child. One of many critics, Judy Hay, a spokeswoman for Harris County (TX) Children's Protective Services, said, "that person grows up with that wrenching question: Who am I? What's my medical history? What's my ethnic background? Basic information that every adult should have. And there's nothing we can do to help them with that kind of pain."

Many Concerns

In addition to questions the children will have about their abandonment, medical history, and heritage, concerns have been voiced by child welfare workers and others:

• What will be the legal consequences in subsequent adoptions where no formal consent has been obtained?
• What about putative fathers' rights which may be completely overridden?
• Will these practices encourage hiding a pregnancy rather than other, more responsible, alternatives that involve regular pre-natal care, and post-natal care and counseling for mothers?

and the most frequently voiced concern is that this legislation does nothing to address the underlying issue of why mothers abandon their babies.

Certainly the actual implementation of the programs will be interesting to follow.

• If no identification is required, how will it be determined that the woman or person dropping off an infant is, in fact, the mother - or a person legally entitled to act on her behalf?
• If a woman has resolved to hide a pregnancy for nine months, will she sit around a fire station or emergency room while it's determined that her child is indeed unharmed, under 3 days, or 3 months old, as the programs require? And if the baby doesn't meet the requirements?
• Or will these laws and programs merely be a politically correct framework for practices like the "baby chute" in Johannesburg, South Africa, where babies are literally placed in a chute (similar to a mail slot) built into a church door?

Think these laws are the greatest? You've got company, as the number of state laws and programs attests.

Think these laws are missing the point? Read opinions of Legislators, Child Welfare professionals, and others who agree.

Additional Resources

• Baby Moses Project
• International Association of Voluntary Adoption Agencies and NGOs (IAVAAN)
• National Conference of State Legislatures
• Opinions of Legislators, Child Welfare professionals, and others
• A Rush to Judgment?, Alan Guttmacher Institute
• Child Welfare League Monograph
• Position Paper: Safe Haven for Whom? from Ethica, "a voice for ethical adoption"
• Position Statement: Abandoned Baby Legislation, American Adoption Congress
• The Adoptability of Abandoned Babies, Associate Law Professor Joanna Grossman

© Nancy S. Ashe