After a teenage girl gave birth in a Virginia motel in March 2000 to a baby girl, she and her teenage boyfriend drove over the state lines to Delaware, nursed the baby, wrapped her in a blanket and left her in a portable toilet. A construction worker found the child dead 12 hours later. The two teenagers claimed that they were afraid to tell their families because of their strong Catholic upbringing. They also believed that someone would find the baby alive. (Cnn.com, Teens) Unfortunately, stories like these are becoming all too common. All these mothers who feel like they have nowhere to turn are just abandoning their children. What if America had a legal statute that said a mother could take her child to a hospital and leave it the arms of someone who will make sure that the child survives, without threat of legal prosecution? Wouldn't that be in the best interest of the child?.
While some states such as New York, Pennsylvania and Texas do have laws aimed at saving abandoned babies, there simply aren't enough states participating. New York has a law that women who abandon their newborns at hospitals or other safe havens are protected from prosecution. " "This new law will help save lives by giving often young desperate mothers an opportunity to place their child in a safe place," Pataki said." (Cnn.com, New York) This law will make such a difference in these children's lives. Now they will have a chance to survive and not just be trashed.
There are some non-profit programs available for mothers who aren't sure what they are going to do. Project Cuddle is a program with a hotline for women to call who have an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy and they don't know what they are going to do when the baby is born. Most of these women will have thoughts of abandoning the baby cross their mind. With how common baby abandonment has become, it seems to cross many women's minds, mostly teenagers.
