When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 05, 2022 | Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 9,976 |
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A newborn baby was found dead inside a duffel bag outside of a Chicago fire station early Saturday morning, according to officials.
The grim discovery was made around 5 a.m. on Saturday outside of a station on the 1000 block of North Orleans Street, the Chicago Police Department tells PEOPLE in a statement.
The body was found when the firehouse crew went outside that morning to shovel snow, according to The Chicago Tribune. The newspaper also reported that the duffel bag was found covered in snow.
It is not yet clear how long the newborn had been outside.
Fire officials say that there was not an attempt to contact anybody inside the station, an action that could have saved the newborn's life, according to The Chicago Tribune.
Following the discovery, the Chicago Fire Department issued a reminder on social media about the Illinois Safe Haven Law, which makes it possible for newborns to be left with workers at designated safe places with "no questions asked and no judgement given."
"There is no risk to the person being identified or questioned. You can knock on the door, ring the bell, get our attention, we will take the child from you, thank you and you're on your way," Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford told the newspaper.
However, Langford stressed that in order for the system to work, it's imperative for parents to "have contact with someone."
"Under no circumstances do we want people to leave children outside. And because of the way the Safe Haven Law is written, you may hand the child directly to a staff member or Fire Department member — they won't ask for your name, they won't ask for identification, they won't question you at all, which is far better than leaving the child outside," Langford added.
Illinois' Safe Haven law is a safe way for parents who make the difficult choice to give up a newborn for adoption. Handing over a newborn to a Firefighter or Paramedic directly at a firehouse can help facilitate the safest outcome. No questions asked and no judgment given.
However, the parents of the late newborn will now potentially face arrest and charges, officials told the Tribune.
"I'm speechless. I don't know what to say anymore. I want to scream and yell," Dawn Geras, founder and executive director of the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation, told WLS.
"It makes me feel like I failed," Geras added. "There was one other woman out there who didn't know about the law or how to use it, and because of that, there's a dead baby on the door steps of a fire house. It shouldn't happen."
Since the law passed, 143 babies had been taken to a Safe Haven location, according to the Chicago Tribune. However, during the same time period, 87 babies were found illegally abandoned, and 51% of those newborns died.
"Illegal abandonment has decreased over the years, but one baby death like this is way too many," Geras told the newspaper. "People don't think about [the law] until something like this happens."
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 05, 2022 | Registered: 15 years ago Posts: 3,842 |
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 05, 2022 | Registered: 13 years ago Posts: 1,367 |
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 05, 2022 | Registered: 9 years ago Posts: 3,713 |
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 06, 2022 | Registered: 15 years ago Posts: 3,842 |
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 06, 2022 | Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 9,976 |
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 07, 2022 | Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 9,199 |
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Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 07, 2022 | Registered: 9 years ago Posts: 3,713 |
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Cambion
According to this story, all but three of the kids abandoned under the 2007 Safe Haven law were severely mentally ill.
https://www.gq.com/story/nebraska-child-abandon-legal
I'm honestly amazed that only 36 kids were dropped off in Nebraska in a four-month-long time span before the law was amended to include an age limit. I wonder how many parents used it as a way to make their kids behave. "You better stop doing that right now, or I'll leave you in Nebraska!"
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 07, 2022 | Registered: 9 years ago Posts: 3,713 |
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bell_flower
“We still see loaves thrown in dumpsters, toilets, and water, despite the safe haven laws in (I believe) all the US states. I can't understand why, except that many of these babies are born to moos on drugs.”
Well maybe, but when I looked at this the last time we discussed it, I noticed a lot of states only let you surrender an infant that is 72 hours old or younger.
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 07, 2022 | Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 9,199 |
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That is a ridiculous limitation, I thought 30 days was very limiting. Why not at least 90 days? I think most people who adopt would gladly take an infant at 90 days old.
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 07, 2022 | Registered: 9 years ago Posts: 3,713 |
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bell_flower
Yes, to me the whole thing smacked of "feel good legislation for da childrun" with no practical application. Kind of like pro-liars who bleet about all the "baybees" being aborted, but don't ask them to spend a cent raising any of them.
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 07, 2022 | Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 9,976 |
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Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 13, 2022 | Registered: 13 years ago Posts: 2,701 |
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Cambion
What the fuck is the point of a Safe Haven when they want to identify the mother? The whole purpose of these things is so the woman can leave her kid there anonymously. Making it known that you will attempt to identify and locate the mother in order drag her through the mud and punish her legally for abandonment is just going to make her leave the loaf in a dumpster or out in the woods instead. Then there will be more stories about all the dead abandoned loaves found when the town has nice handy dancy Safe Havens available that no one uses.
You can't even dump babies on people's doorsteps anymore because everyone has doorbell cameras now and they'll know who you are unless you wear non-identifiable clothes and a mask. I wish people would just fucking understand that not every woman wants to be a mother and that's perfectly okay. Surely letting a woman drop off a baby at a safe place no questions asked is better than making her feel that her only option is to abandon the child in a box in an alley so it can die slowly of starvation or exposure? Or is a dead baby truly better than an unwanted one?
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 14, 2022 | Registered: 13 years ago Posts: 1,367 |
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 14, 2022 | Registered: 3 years ago Posts: 129 |
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 14, 2022 | Registered: 9 years ago Posts: 3,713 |
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Cambion
What the fuck is the point of a Safe Haven when they want to identify the mother? The whole purpose of these things is so the woman can leave her kid there anonymously.
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 14, 2022 | Registered: 15 years ago Posts: 3,842 |
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 14, 2022 | Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 9,976 |
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kman
After thinking about this, it occurred to me that total anonymity when dropping off an infant at a safe haven would not be a good idea. What if some scatterbrain or evil relative (say, a grandparent) stole the infant to dispose of it? Or the duh drops off the infant without the moo's knowledge so he won't have to pay child support? Or the same moo drops off every infant she spawns over time? Or an abused woman is being forced to get rid of the baby?
Re: When breeders are too lazy to even use Safe Havens March 18, 2022 | Registered: 13 years ago Posts: 1,367 |
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Cambion
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kman
After thinking about this, it occurred to me that total anonymity when dropping off an infant at a safe haven would not be a good idea. What if some scatterbrain or evil relative (say, a grandparent) stole the infant to dispose of it? Or the duh drops off the infant without the moo's knowledge so he won't have to pay child support? Or the same moo drops off every infant she spawns over time? Or an abused woman is being forced to get rid of the baby?
I can't imagine whomever is at the safe haven wouldn't ask questions if an older person or a man showed up with a loaf for disposal because that could easily be a baby being dropped off without the mother's consent. Keeping an eye on the news for reports of missing infants would be good too in case someone pretending to be the mother left the kid without the real mother's consent.
Or if it is the mother, ask her (in private) if she is voluntarily surrendering the child. I know that probably goes against the "no questions asked" part of safe havens, but maybe that one can be the exception to ensure she's not being coerced? I think requesting medical history is acceptable for the sake of the child because every kid deserves to know if they're going to be predisposed to some awful disease. But the woman shouldn't have to give a name or other identifying information if she doesn't want to.
I think the safe havens are definitely a step in the right direction and I know they've prevented a lot of unnecessary loaf deaths, but it's a system that needs tweaking.