An 81-year-old man from a quiet Boston suburb stepped out to pick
up the mail yesterday and was surprised to find a tote bag sitting on his
doorstep. He was even more surprised by the contents of the bag: a newborn baby
girl, sleeping peacefully. After John Tuckerman put his hand to the infant’s
cheek and she stirred, he hurriedly called 911.
The baby was rushed to the hospital and is in excellent
health. She had been cleaned and dried before she was abandoned, although her
umbilical cord was still intact. Whoever abandoned her also left a pillow, a
blanket, and a note asking that the baby be well cared for.
Newton
police are trying to find the baby’s parents and hope that anyone with
information about the newborn will come forward. This seems unlikely to me,
however, since the parents could potentially face child abuse charges if they
were identified.
Some are arguing that this case underscores the need to publicize
Massachusetts’
Baby Safe Haven Law, which makes it legal to abandon an infant who is seven
days old or younger at a police station, a firehouse, or a hospital. The parents
or mother who abandoned this baby girl clearly cared about her welfare. It’s
likely that they would have left her at one of these “safe havens” had they
known about the law.
Fortunately, in this case the baby is unharmed and will go to a loving home.
