Abandoning a baby is unfathomable to most, but not every baby is planned and welcomed into a well-resourced, loving home.
That’s why we fully support Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature on Senate Bill 780, which expands the Texas law known as Baby Moses, which dates back to 1999.
The expansion allows qualified facilities to install “baby boxes” where parents can anonymously surrender a newborn to an emergency infant care provider. Currently, surrendering a child 60 days old or younger requires a face-to-face exchange.
The expanded measure, which had bipartisan support, will save lives. It goes into effect Sept. 1.
Some readers may remember “Baby Noel,” who was born in 2013 at University Hospital to Nidia Yolibeth Alvarado, an immigrant from Honduras. Alvarado was sentenced to life in prison after admitting to investigators that she tied a ligature around the neck of her crying, 2-day-old baby. She watched him die, put him in a duffel bag and threw his body in the trash three days before Christmas.
Some readers may also remember Christian, a newborn who was found dead in a suitcase along Interstate 37 on Mother’s Day weekend in 2015.
Since 2009, 191 babies have been surrendered at Baby Moses safe haven sites across Texas. In the Bexar County region, about 20 babies were relinquished during that period, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
These boxes should save lives. Parents who feel compelled to surrender their babies are desperate, and baby boxes are a compassionate response to a situation many would find unthinkable.
San Antonio Express-News
