Safe Haven Laws

Two or three weeks ago a desperate family left their newborn in the atrium of DePaul Hospital in Norfolk, VA. Every state in this great nation of ours has adopted, what I think are called, Safe Haven laws which allow parents to leave an infant at a hospital, fire station or other medical facility that can render 24-hour emergency care. The person that left a baby at DePaul did the right thing and now authorities want to track them down on the pretense of seeing if the family is in trouble and in need of assistance. Yeah, right. If the parents are identified, they will be prosecuted for child endangerment and that is not the intent of the Save Haven laws. My heart aches for these parents, because I know it was a difficult decision -- to give up one's own flesh and blood. At the same time, I applaud the parents' selflessness for having the wherewithal to give up the child in a manner that kept him safe. I think the authorities should cease their investigation in this case. If the parents are identified and prosecuted, this could set a bad precedent in future cases. Even with the Safe Haven laws on the books, other parents in similar situations may be more reluctant to leave unwanted infants in hospitals or other facilities. The thought of what desperate parents can do to unwanted infants without the Safe Haven laws is disturbing. There are too many distressing news stories from all over the country about desperate parents and what they do to children they do not want. I believe the great state of Texas was one of the first to adopt Safe Haven laws -- BRAVO, Texas!

In the DePaul baby case -- leave the parents alone. They will inflict on themselves greater punishment than all the child protection laws on the books ever could. I usually pass DePaul Hospital in the mornings on my way to Boot Camp. I wish I had been passing that day the baby was left so that I could have taken him and raised him as a member of the my family. Yeah, I know that ain't right either. But that's another story. In the long term scheme of things, it is better to find a healthy, kicking and screaming newborn abandoned at at hospital than to find the same in a waste receptacle at a construction site. Think about it.