It always saddens me when I hear about a mother killing her child. It saddens me more when the child is a newborn. Last week here in Mobile an 18-year-old mother claimed that her 1-month-old daughter had been kidnapped by two woman who said they were from an adoption agency. The mother, who also has a 14-month-old daughter, said that after giving birth to the second child she realized she would not be able to take care of both kids so she decided to put the new baby up for adoption. She claimed she called an agency from a list given to her by a social worker. She then met with two women who took the baby. They told her she had ten days to change her mind and if so, she could have the baby back.
She then claimed that two days later, she changed her mind but when her mother contacted the agency, they told her they had no record of the adoption and neither women worked for the agency. Everyone in the community was heartbroken by this turn of events. A teary-eyed news conference was held and the search was on for the abductors. In the back of my mind, I started to wonder if this was a hoax. It wouldn’t be the first time but I was really hoping my gut feelings were wrong. But I had this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that the story was a lie.
On Sunday, it was revealed that the mother confessed to killing the baby. She put her body in the family’s trashcan and the poor baby is somewhere in the local landfill.
What I couldn’t understand is the young woman seemed to have a loving supportive family. I don’t know why she felt she had to kill the baby. Her mom was very supportive as was her grandmother, a few aunts and she seemed to have a boatload of cousins. But I guess you can’t understand what goes through the mind of another person.
What is also sad is the fact that we have Safe Haven laws. A mother can take her baby and drop him off in a safe place like a hospital without fear of prosecution. Yet, mothers continue to kill their babies or abandon them in unsafe places, many who eventually die. As parents, we need to let our daughters know that no matter what happens we will be there to support them. We don’t want them to think that they have no other choice. Because they do.
See also:
Let’s Talk About Teen Pregnancy
Teen Abortions: Do Parents Have the Legal Right to Know?
Report Shows Fewer Tees Having Sex