This Monday, a mother abandoned a baby inside of the manger of a nativity scene set up inside the church. The baby was wrapped in towels with its umbilical cord still attached.
The mother has been identified but she will not face criminal charges, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced late Wednesday.
The baby was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was determined to be healthy and in stable condition.
Surveillance video from a 99-cent store in Queens shows a woman holding a bundle wrapped in a black jacket, according to PIX 11. The woman picks up some purple towels, which appear to be the same towels in which the infant was swaddled. The woman then makes a purchase and leaves the store with a bag.
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So, should she be facing criminal charges?
The mother will not face criminal charges since she followed the spirit of New York’s ‘Safe Haven’ Law, which allows a parent to leave a child not older than 30 days with an appropriate person or in a suitable location where the parent promptly notifies an appropriate person of the child’s location.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, said to PEOPLE:
“It appears that the mother, in this case, felt her newborn child would be found safely in the church and chose to place the baby in the manger because it was the warmest place in the church, and further she returned the following morning to make certain that the baby had been found.”
Supporters of safe-haven laws claim that the laws save lives by encouraging parents to surrender infants safely, providing an alternative to abortion, infanticide, or child abandonment. Detractors claim that, because safe-haven laws do not require parents to be under stress, one parent will use the law largely to avoid notice to the non-surrendering parent. The laws have also been criticized due to the fact that in some states, safe-haven laws favor mothers.
Critics also claim that safe-haven laws undercut temporary surrender laws, which were enacted specifically for parents who are unsure about whether to keep or relinquish their children. Supporters counter by arguing that anonymity is the only way to convince certain parents not to harm their infants, and that the benefit outweighs any claimed detriment.
Any parent wishing to leave their child can call and the child will be picked up by child care workers. The number is 1-877-796-HOPE.
