LilMtnCbn
08-19-2004, 06:01 AM
My filtering option is on the blink, so I can't tell if this is the same
article I posted yesterday. If so, apologies.
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2004/08/19/news/local_illinois/b341
637952df3f8a86256ef50004beae.txt
Teenager hides dead baby
LANSING: Police say infants may be abandoned legally under safe haven law.
BY LAURI HARVEY
Illinois Editor
This story ran on nwitimes.com on Thursday, August 19, 2004 12:38 AM CDT
LANSING -- A Lansing teenage mother reportedly hid the body of her dead infant
son for three days after the child died following a premature birth Friday.
According to Lansing police, the 15-year-old mother concealed her pregnancy
from her family and contacted the adoption agency The Cradle to make plans to
relinquish her parental rights after the child was born.
When the girl gave birth two months prematurely in her home -- again,
unbeknownst to her family -- she placed the baby in a box with an afghan and
told no one for three days, police said.
On Monday, a representative from The Cradle contacted the Lansing Police
Department to report the incident after a discussion with the young mother.
Deputy Police Chief Paul Warn said following an investigation by his department
and the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, which ruled the infant's cause
of death as natural causes, no charges were filed against the mother.
"The way we look at this is everyone is a victim here," Warn said. "It didn't
appear as if there was any intent of a criminal nature. It's just sad."
Warn acknowledged the situation was unique and said he believes the young
mother, who became pregnant while she was a middle school student, exhibited
"amazing maturity" in contacting the adoption agency to map out a plan for the
child's life, had he lived.
Still, Warn said he believes the incident illustrates the need to better
publicize the state's Abandoned Newborn and Infant Protection Act, which allows
parents immunity from criminal prosecution if they safely abandoned their
infants at a hospital, a medical emergency facility or a fire station within 72
hours of birth.
The act was amended just three weeks ago to include police stations as safe
havens, a move Warn actively supported.
Warn was contacted by the organization Save Abandoned Babies just over a year
ago and was asked to support their efforts to include police stations on the
safe havens list.
The group asked him to sign a pre-written letter to Illinois Rep. Elizabeth
Coulson, R-Glenview, who co-sponsored the legislation with Illinois Sen. Donne
Trotter, D-Chicago. Warn decided instead to share his first-hand experience
with an abandoned baby while on the job.
On Dec. 2, 1999, a Lansing police officer called for Warn's assistance at a
garbage bin fire. When Warn arrived, he learned an infant was inside and had
been doused with an accelerant and set on fire.
"I don't ever want to have to take an infant child out of a Dumpster again,"
Warn said.
Warn said making police stations safe havens under the act is a logical
extension of the work of the law enforcement community.
"We're here to help and if we can't help an infant child -- one of the weakest
among us -- well, that should be the least we can do," he said.
Warn said he believes most adults are aware of the safe haven laws, but doesn't
believe enough is being done to educate the young mothers most likely to use
them.
"I'm going to be in contact with the schools in town once they are in session,"
Warn said. "The girl was between middle school and high school, so it's not
just a high school thing. Obviously, if the student is physically capable of
having children, it can happen.
"What I would like to see come out of this whole thing is the knowledge that if
somebody has a child they are unwilling or incapable of caring for, there are
options out there and the safe haven act is one of them."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
article I posted yesterday. If so, apologies.
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2004/08/19/news/local_illinois/b341
637952df3f8a86256ef50004beae.txt
Teenager hides dead baby
LANSING: Police say infants may be abandoned legally under safe haven law.
BY LAURI HARVEY
Illinois Editor
This story ran on nwitimes.com on Thursday, August 19, 2004 12:38 AM CDT
LANSING -- A Lansing teenage mother reportedly hid the body of her dead infant
son for three days after the child died following a premature birth Friday.
According to Lansing police, the 15-year-old mother concealed her pregnancy
from her family and contacted the adoption agency The Cradle to make plans to
relinquish her parental rights after the child was born.
When the girl gave birth two months prematurely in her home -- again,
unbeknownst to her family -- she placed the baby in a box with an afghan and
told no one for three days, police said.
On Monday, a representative from The Cradle contacted the Lansing Police
Department to report the incident after a discussion with the young mother.
Deputy Police Chief Paul Warn said following an investigation by his department
and the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, which ruled the infant's cause
of death as natural causes, no charges were filed against the mother.
"The way we look at this is everyone is a victim here," Warn said. "It didn't
appear as if there was any intent of a criminal nature. It's just sad."
Warn acknowledged the situation was unique and said he believes the young
mother, who became pregnant while she was a middle school student, exhibited
"amazing maturity" in contacting the adoption agency to map out a plan for the
child's life, had he lived.
Still, Warn said he believes the incident illustrates the need to better
publicize the state's Abandoned Newborn and Infant Protection Act, which allows
parents immunity from criminal prosecution if they safely abandoned their
infants at a hospital, a medical emergency facility or a fire station within 72
hours of birth.
The act was amended just three weeks ago to include police stations as safe
havens, a move Warn actively supported.
Warn was contacted by the organization Save Abandoned Babies just over a year
ago and was asked to support their efforts to include police stations on the
safe havens list.
The group asked him to sign a pre-written letter to Illinois Rep. Elizabeth
Coulson, R-Glenview, who co-sponsored the legislation with Illinois Sen. Donne
Trotter, D-Chicago. Warn decided instead to share his first-hand experience
with an abandoned baby while on the job.
On Dec. 2, 1999, a Lansing police officer called for Warn's assistance at a
garbage bin fire. When Warn arrived, he learned an infant was inside and had
been doused with an accelerant and set on fire.
"I don't ever want to have to take an infant child out of a Dumpster again,"
Warn said.
Warn said making police stations safe havens under the act is a logical
extension of the work of the law enforcement community.
"We're here to help and if we can't help an infant child -- one of the weakest
among us -- well, that should be the least we can do," he said.
Warn said he believes most adults are aware of the safe haven laws, but doesn't
believe enough is being done to educate the young mothers most likely to use
them.
"I'm going to be in contact with the schools in town once they are in session,"
Warn said. "The girl was between middle school and high school, so it's not
just a high school thing. Obviously, if the student is physically capable of
having children, it can happen.
"What I would like to see come out of this whole thing is the knowledge that if
somebody has a child they are unwilling or incapable of caring for, there are
options out there and the safe haven act is one of them."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
