The shocking rise in the number of newborn babies found abandoned in Texas has unnerved communities, raising urgent questions about women’s reproductive health.
At least 18 babies have been abandoned in the Lone Star state this year, with the latest found just before Christmas at a Whataburger fast food chain in San Antonio, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
A decade ago, the number of abandoned babies per year sat at just seven.
It is not clear whether or not there is a common link between the increasingly common tragedies. However, the alarming rate of abandonment is happening in a state with one of the country’s most restrictive abortion bans.
In Texas, the law makes no exceptions for victims of rape or incest as it pertains to abortion, yet, the state yields one of the nation’s highest birth rates.
Currently, the southwestern state sits next to last on the rankings for women’s health and reproductive care, according to the Commonwealth Fund, which supports independent research on such issues.
In light of the disturbing increase of child abandonment, Leah Kipley, the assistant director of the National Safe Haven Alliance met with Texas legislators to advocate for a safe haven awareness campaign.
‘We’re all just reeling at the tragedies and hoping we can make some meaningful changes to prevent this,’ Kipley told the Washington Post.
The shocking rise in the number of newborn babies found abandoned in Texas has unnerved communities and raising urgent questions about women’s reproductive health. Pictured: One of few Safe Haven Baby Box drop-off stations in Texas
Twenty-five years ago, Texas marked the first state to pass a monumental safe haven law, the Baby Moses law, which allowed parents to relinquish their newborns at designated ‘safe’ locations such as a hospital, fire station, free standing emergency center, or emergency medical services station
Twenty-five years ago, Texas marked the first state to pass a monumental safe haven law, the Baby Moses law, which allowed parents to relinquish their newborns at designated ‘safe’ locations such as a hospital, fire station, free standing emergency center, or emergency medical services station.
The law was designed to help curb child abandonment allowing the drop-off to be free of prosecution.
However, state legislators continue to cut funding for women’s healthcare, as more and more women across the state opt to go without health insurance, making Texas the state with the highest percentage of women without healthcare in the country.
Earlier this year, state Governor Greg Abbott added to the ongoing crisis by installing an order for Texas public hospitals to track the cost of treating illegal immigrants.
The order was designed to deter women from seeking care over fears of being turned over to authorities, a feat which could have added to the increased cases of abandonment.
‘All of these intersectional things could be leading to this,’ Blake Rocap, a lawyer with the Sissy Farenthold Reproductive Justice Defense Project at the University of Texas at Austin, said.
The effect of the near-total abortion ban Rocap believes, is compounded by ‘abysmal’ access to prenatal care, ‘particularly for people without private insurance, particularly for people without immigration status.’
Kipley also commented on the Governor’s new order adding: ‘It just shows you the lack of awareness in vulnerable communities, like the undocumented. This is a law that we have that protects human life, and this needs to be shared. If it’s not shared, how will they know there’s help?’
Yet, even with a record $32.7 billion budget surplus, state lawmakers have not allocated any money towards raising awareness for the concerning issue.
Instead, they allocated $165 million to programs offering alternatives to abortion, including crisis pregnancy centers that claim to provide women unbiased guidance but have been accused of deceptive practices.
Earlier this year, state Governor Greg Abbott (pictured) added the ongoing crisis installing an order for Texas public hospitals to track the cost of treating illegal immigrants. The order was designed to deter women from seeking care over fears of being turned over to authorities, a feat which could have added to the increased cases of abandonment
In light of the disturbing increase of child abandonment, Leah Kipley, the assistant director of the National Safe Haven Alliance met with Texas legislators to advocate for a safe haven awareness campaign. ‘We’re all just reeling at the tragedies and hoping we can make some meaningful changes to prevent this,’ Kipley said.
The appropriation included at least $2 million for an initiative promoting adoption.
Other states however have recently updated its safe haven law to incorporate a hotline as well as a $75,000 bonus allocated towards educational content for this year and next.
In Virginia, $50,000 has been allocated each year for safe haven awareness in the form of billboards, a website, training program and various public service announcements.
Illinois also requires its public schooling system to provide teachings about the safe haven law and offers a free curriculum on the law.
‘Women don’t know what to do,’ a wealthy Texas township board director, Shelley Sekula-Gibbsshe said.
‘We have to educate, to give them more choices, to give them a chance to provide a loving home for their child.’
Texas did however join several other states in passing laws allowing communities to install Safe Haven Baby Boxes, climate-controlled padded drawers installed within fire station’s exterior.
The safe boxes allow for a safe drop-off as they are equipped with a silent alarm, alerting first responders to the drop. Though the drawers come at high cost, nearing a total of $20,000 per box.
In Texas, a child who is 60 days old or younger may be relinquished to authorities.
The child may be relinquished by his or her parent.
Yet, there are only two boxes in all of Texas, according to the Safe Haven Baby Box website.