American baby boxes

[Purplewithgreenspots]

At a time when there is a push to overturn Wade vs Roe, Indiana has increased its number of baby boxes, which exist across the country for mothers who either do not want or cannot look after their babies.

Nobody should be encouraged to abandon children and the U.N. have called this one out as being in contravention of the rights of the child.

As one of these fascist pro-life types I’m uneasy about these boxes and think other support solutions need to be in place to allow women to continue with the pregnancy including a better ‘last resort’ option of anonymised hospital birth, (free of charge) which would at least ensure that the woman gets the appropriate medical care.

The baby’s life is important but of equal importance is the mother, who in the situation of a hidden pregnancy needs access to medical care and support. This is all too gimmicky.

I think my point is that at a time when there is a push to force women to carry a pregnancy to term, there will be an ever growing number of women that cannot look after these children they did not want to have.

Sure, fair enough. Mine was as above. I abhor the idea of baby boxes. It’s a vile gimmick encouraging women not to get the care they need.

I’m not sure how they would work. Are women expected to free birth? In which case that can be very dangerous. Or if not surely a child could be killed or hidden away by an abusive parent and if questioned by the authorities they could explain the child’s disappearance by saying it was put in a baby box.

I knew one of the girls in a case that led to these "boxes" happening (they're not really boxes most places, but rather a policy that any hospital or fire station or police department will take your baby with very few questions asked).

She had mild impairments, a young teenager who disguised her pregnancy and only sort of understood it, didn't have any idea when she might be due. Had her baby in silence in her parents' basement, panicked, and dressed the baby in doll clothes and wrapped her in a blanket, then set it on a neighbor's doorstep and rang the bell. She didn't know the neighbor was out of town. The baby died, it was a mystery who it belonged to, and she only told the baby's father it had been her. Then he blackmailed her with the information, she turned herself in and was imprisoned.

It's important to know what kinds of sad cases lead to this. The state of support for mothers in the US is truly abysmal, especially for young mothers in under-served areas both urban and rural.

For some young women, this is their only way to avoid situations in which they might be vulnerable to abuse or worse.

I think it's useful to reflect on the difference in approach between the US and the UK wrt new mothers abandoning their babies. In the UK, the whole thing is framed very gently, with pleas for the mum to come forward as she might need medical care etc.

In the US, as I understand, it's treated with much less tenderness and compassion and I think is actually prosecuted as a crime. Personally, I think that is useful context for why someone might think a 'box' like this might be a kind approach.

Though I do agree with the gimmick element, and my pro life activism does tend towards more systemic change so that a woman doesn't ever need to be so desperate that she abandons her baby.

I think abandoning your baby in the UK is prosecuted as well, but there is a realisation that the mother will probably need medical care as well.

purple, oh, I'm sure there are consequences, yes, but I was talking about framing rather than procedure particularly. I've seen huge differences in the way Americans and Brits approach it, though obviously this a broad brush.

The British media approach sounds a bit gaslight-y The rhetoric is all about the mother coming forward as she might need care, but once she comes forward, while she'll get the care because we have the NHS, she gets arrested and prosecuted. The framing may sound gentle compared to the US, but the reality is only really changed by the existence of the NHS, not by a different attitude.

They aren't just an American thing.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22123366

I don't know if a mother would be prosecuted in the UK.

This is from the website of a firm specialising in Famy Law. Under the 1861 Child Abandonment Law, it is a criminal offence for a parent to abandon a child under 2 years of age. However, in practice, legal action is not usually taken against the parent, as they may have underlying mental issues or problems with addiction

As much as we might grimace at the thought of these, they are live-saving and spare both the baby and the mother. Here in the US, it's so common to read about babies found in dumpsters, trash shoots, out in the woods, etc. When the mothers are found, they end up prosecuted for their crime, spending time in prison. (They are often young, vulnerable girls with few resources and little support.)

Having safe options for women to turn over a baby without the fear of any legal consequence is very much a pro-woman program. Yes, the issue is much deeper and these girls deserve our help long before they end up in such a desperate situation, but I fully support these measures.

Thanks MargueritaPink, thats helpful. In terms of consequences, my thinking was social services involvement, not prison time. So yes, much more compassionate.

This is a really interesting blog by a mother who placed her baby in a "safe haven", you'd have to go back a bit to read her full story:

thanksgivingmom.wordpress.com/

Here's an interview by another blogger with her:

www.notavisitor.com/2010/03/blog-post.html?m=1

"...The U.N. have called this one out as being in contravention of the rights of the child...."

The USA is the only nation on Earth that has not ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.