:: Questions & Answers

Q: How widespread is abandonment? How often does abandonment occur?

A: Unfortunately, this issue is worldwide and is taking place every day. There is no process in place to track statistics, however there have been estimates to suggest that this problem is much larger than anyone would ever imagine. Please see the estimates below for USA, China and Russia.

Also note: Worldwide statistics of live birth is estimated at 247 per minute, (356,201 per day). Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base.

• Information by US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Note: Out of 105, 72 lived and 33 died.
  
• Information by China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA). 50,000 Abandoned babies adopted by families since 1990. Babies’ predominately female. This number is perceived as very low due the lack of tracking within China.
  
• Information by Human Rights Watch.
  

Q: What are the reasons for a person to abandon their child?

A: As anyone can imagine, every case and person is uniquely different. Therefore, their own personal reasons and struggles to abandon their child must accompany their own story - a story we may never know. However, the United States Department of Health and Human Services provided a study on “broad” reasons and percentages. Please see the results below:

These reasons can stem from economic pressure, drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, physical or mental abuse, and/or other family/personal reasons undisclosed.

Q: What is the racial and gender majority of children abandoned?

A: Please see the tables below for the United States. This information is supplied by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Q: What is purpose of the Safe Haven Law (sometimes called Baby Moses Law) that is enacted in the United States?

A: The purpose of these new laws is to encourage mothers, who might otherwise discard their children, to go to an emergency room or other safe place that is designated by State to drop off their infants. While statutes vary from state-to-state, most include the following provisions: Safe haven laws allow the parent, or an agent of the parent, to remain anonymous and to be shielded from prosecution for abandonment or neglect in exchange for safely surrendering the baby to a safe haven.

To date, 46 States have enacted safe haven legislation to provide a vehicle for the safe relinquishment of unwanted newborns. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children’s and Families: http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/general/legal/statutes/safehaven.cfm

Q: Does the Safe Haven Law work?

A: Unfortunately, while Safe Haven laws are well intentioned, there is no proof that they work or are needed:

• There is no statistical tracking of baby abandonments - even under most Save Haven laws.
  
• Safe Haven Laws instruct anonymity, so it is impossible to understand and learn of the personal situations of those who relinquish by this method; their state of mind, their fears, and their motives.
  
• Safe Haven Laws prohibit on-site required counseling, thus denying the parent(s) the opportunity to discuss adoption plans, financial assistance programs and alternative care.
  
• No serious studies in the United States have been made on mothers who abandon their newborns. Evidence suggests that they may suffer from a dissociative state in which the pregnancy is mentally denied.
  
• No follow up counseling to biological mother or to the adult abandoned child.