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April 1, 2000Safe haven law provides chance to save childrenThese are strange times we live in.On one hand, the Legislature is considering laws to grant immunity to mothers who safely abandon unwanted newborns. On the other, the state has no law on the books that forbids parents from selling their children. Supporters of the immunity legislation say it will help unwanted babies survive. Opponents think it could make the problem of abandoned children worse in our throwaway culture. The legislation deserves serious consideration. The leading reason babies are abandoned is that expectant young moms often are afraid to tell their parents or boyfriend they are pregnant. An immunity law won't make it any easier for the expectant mom to tell family and boyfriend. It will protect newborns, however. And that has to be the bottom line. As far as baby-selling goes, the Legislature should immediately start work on a law to make it clearly illegal. The need for such a law is made clear by the recent case of a Macomb County man who tried to sell his 10-month-old daughter to undercover agents for $60,000. The judge had to drop the felony child abandonment charge against him because it didn't apply. He still faces punishment on lesser charges, but this loophole needs to be closed. It's not a law that many people might have thought of before, but now that we know we need it, there should be no delay. When considering the immunity proposals, Senate Bills 1052 and 1053, lawmakers should take a look at Texas, which has had a similar law in place since September They also should monitor an amnesty program prosecutors in the Detroit area announced this month. It allows mothers to drop off unwanted newborns at secret "safe havens" operated by hospitals in Wayne, Washtenaw, Oakland and Monroe counties. The drop-offs have to occur within three days after birth. No questions will be asked, unless there is evidence of abuse. Minneapolis and Pittsburgh already have similar programs. According to a recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services survey, baby abandonment is on the rise in the United States. In 1991, 65 babies were abandoned, with eight found dead. By 1998, that number rose to 105 deserted and 33 dead. Some child advocacy groups estimate that nearly 60 newborns are abandoned daily, including many left by mothers immediately after giving birth at hospitals. Texas adopted its law last year after a spate of baby abandonments where three of 13 babies died of exposure. More than 20 states are considering similar legislation. The Michigan proposals would allow mothers to leave their unwanted newborns in safe designated places such as hospitals, police stations and fire departments for up to 30 days after birth. If the infant is in good health, the mother would not be charged with child abandonment. If the child is in some way abused, the mother would still face prosecution. The legislation provides that the Family Independence Agency could then place the child for adoption on the ground of abandonment and begin the process of terminating the mother's parental rights. The mother, if she changed her mind, could contest the termination of her parental rights. It's hard to predict whether an amnesty law like the one proposed would have prevented the abandonment of a baby this month at a Detroit church. The baby was wrapped in a towel, then placed inside a purse and garbage bag. It survived - unlike the baby a 17-year-old mother dropped off outside a Catholic rectory in Warren in November. The mother expected it to be taken in by priests, but it died of exposure before anyone found it. There's also the case of the 18-year-old Waterford senior and cheerleader facing an involuntary manslaughter charge for the November death of her newborn. Had she had a safe place to take her baby, no questions asked, would she - after giving birth to her baby in a shower and tying off the umbilical cord with sewing thread - have left the baby in her bedroom while she went to school? Maybe, maybe not. That "maybe not" is the point legislators have to address. The statistics are appalling. Adopting such legislation also will begin a process of addressing the social factors that lead to such abandonments. Perhaps the state Family Independence Agency will have more unwanted babies to place for adoption. But they won't be throwaways. |
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