TOPEKA — A state law meant to give troubled mothers the option of giving up their newborn babies safely and without fear of prosecution isn’t working.
“I don’t think it’s ever been used,” said Roberta Sue McKenna, assistant director of children and family services at the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services.
The law, passed in 2006, allows a woman to “surrender” her newborn to a fire station, health department or hospital, knowing that as long as the baby has not been harmed, she will not be charged with a crime.
A mother has 45 days to give up a newborn and invoke the law’s protection.
Kansas Attorney General Steve Six called attention to the law in a press release last week, announcing that a 20-year-old Marysville woman, Lauren Holle, had agreed to plead guilty to charges of second degree intentional murder, aggravated abandonment of a child, and abuse of a child. The charges stemmed from the June 16, 2009 death of her baby.
“This is a tragedy that didn’t have to happen,” Six said. “This horrible crime and unnecessary loss of life would have been prevented simply by surrendering the child under the Kansas Newborn Infant Protection Act. All women and their families need to be aware of the safe haven law that exists in Kansas.”
Trial testimony indicated that Holle had kept her pregnancy secret. After giving birth in a bathroom at her parents’ house, she wrapped the baby, a girl, in a plastic garbage bag and put it on the back seat of her car.
Later, Holle’s still-unaware parents took her to the hospital because she was bleeding. While there, Holle revealed the baby’s whereabouts.
An autopsy revealed the baby had been born healthy. The probable cause of death was asphyxiation.
Holle’s attorney, Kathleen Ambrosia, did not return KHI News Service calls seeking comment on the circumstances leading up the baby’s death.
Six said his office has “dealt with several cases involving new mothers who killed their newborns,” since the law was passed.
State records show that at least 13 mothers have killed their newborn babies since 1994.
“That’s not a huge number, but, still, one in too many,” said Angela Nordhus, executive director of the Kansas State Child Death Review Board.
“I can’t say for sure, but I have to wonder how well-publicized the safe haven law is,” Nordhus said. “I’m not sure the public knows it’s there.”
Sharon Stuewe, a clinical social worker who works with pregnant women who have decided to put their newborns up for adoption, said that while the law is well-intended, it’s based on false assumptions.
“The issues these women are dealing with – secrecy, shame, guilt, fear, trust – are so complicated and so overriding, to think they’re going to march into a fire house or an emergency room and hand over their infants is being overly simplistic,” Stuewe said.
The law doesn’t work, she said, because it incorrectly assumes a mother in crisis has control of her thoughts.
“If you’re thinking clearly, you can get on the Internet and type in ‘I’m pregnant, help me,’ and you’ll get someone you can talk to in real time,” Stuewe said. “And that person is going to help you make an informed decision on what’s best for you and for your baby and they’ll help you line up the resources to make that happen.”
A woman who wraps her newborn in plastic trash bag is not thinking clearly, she said.
“She could give birth in the hospital parking lot and it wouldn’t make any difference,” Stuewe said.
It’s also unrealistic, she said, to assume that a woman who’s concealed her pregnancy would walk into a fire station or an emergency room to surrender a newborn.
“The fact that just about all of(these facilities) have video cameras now makes anonymity a joke,” Stuewe said. “And it’s not like she can just drop off the baby and leave. She knows she’s going to be stopped. She knows she’s going to be questioned.”
SRS’ McKenna confirmed that if a mother gave up her baby in accordance with the law, police would be called and a Child In Need of Care petition would be filed with the court, triggering an investigation.
“If we are going to have a process for leaving a child in a safe location, then we need to have a process for making sure the person who left child is actually the parent,” she said. “And the act of leaving the child isn’t sufficient to terminate a constitutionally protected bond between parent and child. There would be an investigation.”
A woman can avoid such an investigation by relinquishing her parental rights to a public or private adoption agency.
“That’s the best option,” McKenna said.
Kathie Nichols, a clinical child psychologist, said the law should be expanded to ensure anonymity and access to counseling.
“I think it’s safe to assume these are women who are terribly disturbed, confused and alone,” Nichols said. “When you add in having a baby, it’s like a perfect storm coming together. It’s so tragic.”
Six said he’s willing to explore the possibility of proposing changes to the law.
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