Family Forum / Parenting / Adoption / May 2006

CALIFORNIA

http://www.bakersfield.com/

Safe surrender sign of mothers' courage

By The Bakersfield Californian | Monday, May 15 2006

We generally don't care much for the term "surrender," a word we tend
to associate with defeat, failure or France.

But the recent surrender of newborn babes by their desperate young
mothers was nothing short of courageous.

One of the infants was surrendered at a local hospital in March and is
expected to be adopted soon. The other baby, the second to be
surrendered in Kern County since California's Safely Surrendered Baby
Law went into effect in 2001, was left with officials at the
Bakersfield Fire Department's downtown headquarters last week.

A couple of years ago, after local authorities found the dead body of a
newborn atop a trash heap, a colleague assigned to cover the story
returned to the newsroom understandably upset and frustrated.

"Why do they do it?" she said of mothers who abandon their babies in
trash cans and Dumpsters. "Why, when they can leave the babies
somewhere safe?"

Thankfully, word is finally getting out about the law that allows a
mother to surrender her newborn to a hospital or fire station within
three days of the baby's birth, no questions asked. Once the baby is
surrendered, the mother has 14 days to change her mind. If she does,
and is able to provide a safe home for her child, she can get the baby
back.

The safe surrender law is one of the brightest ideas our state
Legislature ever had. California is one of 46 states to have such laws
and there's little doubt it has saved lives. As of January 2006, a
total of 122 newborns have been safely surrendered in California, while
an additional 130 have been found alive after their illegal
abandonment, according to the state Department of Social Services.

Last year alone 51 babies were safely surrendered, marking the largest
yearly total since the law went into effect. Los Angeles County leads
the state with 44 babies safely surrendered since the program began.

Back in 2001 those few who opposed the law rightly pointed out that the
mothers of the surrendered babies might not hang around long enough to
fill out medical history forms, information that would be helpful in
the child's care and upbringing.

OK, so the law isn't perfect, but it beats death by Dumpster any day,
which is why the Department of Social Services and agencies like the
Bakersfield Pregnancy Center are working to get the word out.

Linda Davis, executive director of the Bakersfield Pregnancy Center,
says the number of tragic infant Dumpster deaths is small, but highly
preventable. Abandoning a newborn baby, she adds, is not something a
woman makes plans to do.

"Denial is a very powerful thing if a person really, really doesn't
want something to be true," Davis says. "These girls can be in denial
right up to the time they go into labor and all of a sudden this baby
is there and they haven't given a thought to what they're going to do."

The two Bakersfield women who surrendered their babies to the safety of
the hospital and fire department could have taken the Dumpster route,
but didn't. They could have aborted their babies early on, but chose
not to.

Instead, they chose to carry their babies to term, to find a safe haven
and to endure the agony of separation so their children could have
better lives than they could give them.

Such a step takes grit, such sacrifice requires healing. To the young
women who chose life for their children, I say there is help and
support. Counselors at the Bakersfield Pregnancy Center, at 2920 F St.,
Suite C5, are standing by and can be reached at 326-1907. Give them a
call.