Sad but necessary

Baby 'drop off' law will save infants' lives

Ever hear a sick "dead baby" story? Here's one: According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 105 newborn babies nationwide were abandoned in 1998 alone, 33 of them died. In order to save the lives of future defenseless children, several counties in Michigan announced a new program Wednesday which would allow parents to anonymously "drop off" their newborn babies at local hospitals. The Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee is also considering passing legislation on a similar vein. These initiatives are extremely important and should be strongly supported on both the state and local levels.

Currently, Michigan parents could face felony charges and a potential ten year prison sentence if convicted of abandoning their children. Such penalties deter unprepared or unwilling parents from handing their newborn over to those who will properly care for it. All too often these parents let these infants die in a dumpster or abandoned lot. These deaths are senseless and easily avoidable. By giving parents the option to hand over their children to the government without fear of reprisal, these initiatives allow these children the opportunity to live. As opposed to being left on a church doorstep (where a child may freeze to death before being discovered), newborns can now be taken care of the second their parents leave them.

Many people are concerned that abandonment offers an easy way out of parenthood by not holding people accountable for their children. While these sentiments are understandable, we need to decide which we hold higher: The lives of infants, or the accountability of their parents.

Should we really allow newborns to die alone because we think their parents are irresponsible? Additionally, one would hardly call nine months of bringing a child to term, let alone giving that child up, "easy" in any sense of the word. These parents are giving their children over to the State because they know they cannot emotionally or physically care for them.

At the very least, they feel as though they have no other choice. Because of this feeling, they will abandon their children, law or not. These programs allow them to do so in a way that will prevent the death of a defenseless newborn. Finally, it's important that these laws and programs not be used as pawns in the abortion debate. Their intention is to simply protect the lives of babies who have already been born, period. Politicians and supporters of either side of the debate shouldn't ever consider abandonment an acceptable alternative to a woman's right to choose. Of course, it is a sad commentary on the world that such laws need to be in place. It is absolutely disgusting that there are so many neglectful parents. Nevertheless, recent trends demonstrate that ignoring this problem won't make it go away. Just last Sunday, a baby (who now has a critical case of pneumonia) was left in a garbage bag in Detroit.

Hopefully these new programs and legislative actions will prevent such tragedy from reoccurring. While it is horrible that the state must draft legislation to protect these small children, it would be almost as neglectful as these children's parents if Michigan didn't do anything about it.