When a Muslim woman went to a Catholic Church and gave up her newborn into the hands of parish staff at Our Lady of Refuge Church, Flatbush, she did so in accordance with New York State law.
The situation, which was profiled in the Dec. 1 issue of The Tablet, was an example of the protection afforded to new parents according to the New York State Abandoned Infant Protection Act.
A parent who finds herself or himself unable or unwilling to care for a newborn can anonymously give up their child in any U.S. state. Although laws vary by state, especially when it comes to the child’s age, a form of protection from prosecution for abandonment exists in every state.
According to the law in New York State, a parent can legally leave a child up to 30 days old with an appropriate person, or in a suitable location, promptly notifying an appropriate person of the infant’s location. A person leaving an infant under this law is not required to give their name.
“A suitable location is anywhere the baby is safe,” said Monica Mahaffey, spokeswoman for the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.
Although New York law gives a hospital, or staffed police or fire station as examples of safe and suitable locations, the protection is much wider, as was made evident last month at Our Lady of Refuge Church.
During a follow-up on the story with the parish, The Tablet spoke with Frantz Lafortune, the cantor at the parish, whose cousin was going to adopt the baby. He told The Tablet that the baby is back with her birth mother.
AMT Children of Hope foundation, based out of Wantaugh, L.I., runs a 24-hour hotline to help women make a responsible decision for their newborns which includes the options of parenting, adoption and as a last resort, legal abandonment. The organization informs them of the options and services available to them.
Tim Jaccard, founder of AMT Children of Hope, personally does everything he can to help these women even if it means helping with delivery, sometimes via phone and sometimes by physically using his skills as a paramedic, and then helping them find a safe place to give up their baby. He helps connect them with pro-bono doctors and agencies that may help them.
AMT Children of Hope provides educational materials regarding the law and services available. The foundation also provides funerals for babies found dead.
“I think one of the biggest flaws of the law is that no one knows about it,” said Kathleen Gallagher, director of pro-life activities for the New York State Catholic Conference (NYSCC).
She said the NYSCC has worked to publicize the law, but there was no money allocated from the state when it passed, meaning that scared new mothers may not know about the law when they need it most.
Gallagher said she was not sure about the law when it was first introduced in 2000. She wondered if it would do any good. Was it just putting a feel-good solution to a much bigger problem?
However, she is now more convinced. One of her friends adopted a child through the AMT Children of Hope Foundation, and he is now a thriving boy.
Although the NYSCC took no official stance on the law when it was first debated in Albany, they submitted a letter of support a decade later in 2010 when the law was going to be updated. The new law extended the time allowed to give up a child from up to five days, to up to 30 days and it protected the parent from criminal charges.
Affirming the Sacredness of Life
“Catholic teaching affirms the sacredness and dignity of every human life, born and unborn,” a memo from the NYSCC dated June 12, 2010 states. “We seek to enable and empower pregnant women to bear their children and raise their families with dignity.
“Consistent with these objectives, we support this legislation, and urge favorable action thereon.”
Mahaffey gave the following clarification on the law:
“New York State’s Abandoned Infant Protection Act allows a parent to abandon a newborn baby up to 30 days of age anonymously and without fear of prosecution if the baby is abandoned in a safe manner. …
“The appropriate child welfare authorities would be notified and the baby would be placed by a Family Court into the custody of the Local Department of Social Services and thereafter placed in a safe foster home.
“If a parent wants to regain custody of their child, the parent would need to engage in services and work with the Local Department of Social Services and appear before the Family Court, which would determine if and when reunification is appropriate and in the best interest of the child.”
