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Show RE CPAP The SaltLake Tribune NATION/WORLD AT Sunday, January 16, 2000 ProgramsStrive to Head Off Baby Abandonment Unwanted Children Left at Door of Hope THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BY MAREGOATHANS JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — oe au appeared one day through the large mail slot at the church's Door of Hope. He woreonly a diaper marked “Johannesburg KNIGHT RIDDER NE’ In Denver, an infant girl is found on a grocery store shelf, umbilical cord at tached. In Alexandria, Va., a newborn Hospital.” languishes on an apartment patio, left by her 25-year-old mother on a cold, rainy night. In Houston,an infantlies dead in a quickly fetched the live parcel, wrapped him in warm clothing and put himfirmlyonlife's uncertain path. Inacity where abouta dozeninfants a year are found deadafter beingleft in Little is known about “discarded babies,” those left in rivers, woods, trash them together with other child abuse and neglect cases, so no one knows how many there are orif their numbers are growing. Now,with a rashofcases in Houstonin that urges mothers not to abandon their babies and publicizes a newstate lawthat gives legal protection to mothers who want to leave their babies in hospitals or the past year andother highly publicized fire stations. nities are coming up with unconventional to research how mothers come to aban- In Minnesota, program began last weekthat allows mothers to anonymously a mystery because so few mothers come forward. Of the 13 recent hours of giving birth and avoid prosecu- mothers were found cases around the United States, commusolutionsto a veryold problem. drop off infants at a hospital within 72 ns tionif the child is unharmed. Social service workers thenfind a foster home and arrange for ydoption, while the niother has the chancf to reclaimthe babywithin six months. Mrganizers plan to use a hot line, public service announcements and brochures in schools and churches to reach young women who maybehiding a pregnancy. The program is modeled after one in Mobile,Ala., which has cometo the aid of four babies in the 14 monthssinceit began, said Jodi Brooks, a local TV reporter who cameup With the idea. Nineteen in- fant deaths were investigated in the two- county area in the 18 months before the program started; none has been discov- ered since, Brookssaid. In the Houston area, where 13 babies were found discarded in the 10 months leading up to last September, a task force has organized an information campaign onein her 20s} All were unmarried and lived with their families, none of which knew of the pregnancies, said Judy Hay, a spokeswoman for Harris County Children’s Protective Services. Three of the babies were found dead, two of them stillborn. Police say the third, discovered in a high Since August, four newborns have been dropped anonymously through the oversized mailslot cut in the security wall at the Berea Baptist Mission South African lawcalls for upto five years imprisonment for child abandonment. Butpolice say theytolerate the Door of Hope operation because it's preferable to risking a baby’s life. “It is traumatic enough giving up your baby without feeling the police hospitals, in a hotel and on the groundsof an elementary school. Aside from the obvious medical risks to an abandoned newborn,Haysaid, “that covered the trial of a mother and grandmother from an upper-middie-class family who were convicted of drowning @ newborn in toilet. Allen, a nurse-midwife and pastor who heads the Door of Hope. “To me it is a sacred trust. When they bring the babyto me, they're giv- ing it to the church,” Brooks saw desperate women panic Al en said. Welfare officials question Allen's approach because it complicates adop- and commit crimes, then avoid coming forward because they faced felony d ers’ release of adoption rights. “I have mixed feelings about the Door of Hope,” said Kay McCrindle at bile Countydistrict attorney, who tion procedures by failing to get moth: She approached John Tyson, the Mo- not to prosecute such cases when infants are unharmed. Hospitals and social ser- the Johannesburg Child Welfare Soci- vice agencies signed on to provide treat- ety. “While I admire their efforts to ingleft, I think in the long run it’s not the best option for the child.” mentandfindfoster homes, and the local mediablitzed the communitywith public service announcements. Door of Hope has room to care for six babies. emerged in the 1980s, is that of the protect children whoare literally be- A more pervasive problem, which have. And there’s nothing we can do to help them with that kindof pain.” The Mobile program got started when Brooks,a television reporter, decided she had covered too manycases of abandoned question: Who am I? What’s my medical history? What’s myethnic background? Basic informationthat every adult should ° Tax Deduction™7"- or Not We Do All Paperwork - Running ‘Restrictions apply Utah Council of the Blind has helpedthe blind become more productive in the workplace since 1972. Vehicles, Real Estate, Lots, Boats, RV's, and more! 800-767-0258 first week on the job in Mobile, Brooks are coming to get you,” said Cheryl aeels Officials also have applied for a grant three of them teen-agers, a wayto save lives. person grows up with that wrenching dontheir infants. The reasonsarelargely cases in Houston, only four churchhas turned to the baby chute as Churchin Hillbrow. His slight weight on a cushioned metal box triggered a buzzer. Staff high schooltrash bin, oneof 13 abandoned babies last year in a city that typically sees oneor two annually. bins — places other than hospital maternity wards Typically, authorities group a garbage bin or out in the open, one born in a knapsack andJeft it in a garage through the winter, where it was not discovered until the next summer. On her “boarder babies,” left in hospital maternity wards by HIV-infected or drugaddicted mothers. The problem led to federallegislation in 1988 that gives money to communities to treat and coordinate services for these infants and place them in homes. WINDOW SPECIAL 40% OFF Nosions i} POT aT New, Easy-Clean Vinyl Replacement Windows * Unique, Easy-C! * Precise Custom AMERIMAX America’s Finest Replacement Windows aS L Momsallowed to drop off infants, avoid prosecution babies. In Wisconsin,in the mid-1990s, she reported on a teen-ager who put her new- 1335 West 7800 South West Jordan, Utah 84088 $.L.C. 561-3781 1-800-240-8309 “Sorry, no adjustments to prior sales school trash bin, suffered multiple blows to the head, and the 15-year-old mother is being prosecuted as an adult on a murdercharge. Other babies in Houston had been left in a hospital bathroom,on a frontporch, on a city street, outside | UTAH AUTO-EXPO. _ Maybeyour Salt Palace Convention Center JANUARY 14-171 SPONSORED BY ‘TheSaltLakeTribune ina} WGe PRODUCED BY For more details, look for additional Auto Show ads in today’s edition: 0 Regence BlueCi‘ross BlueShield of Utah LeetteBaCo he StAeron If you could afford t = Truljgpn. Present” Laser Vision Correction Would you do it tomorrow? preecenen Welcome to Tomorrow * - business needs — new chairs. 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