Sobbing Mother Gives Infant to Louisiana EMTs

A weeping mother handed over her hours-old newborn daughter to a pair of paramedics in the parking lot of a Metairie fast-food restaurant Sunday, making her the sixth person in seven years to take advantage of Louisiana's "safe haven" law, authorities said.

Under the law, approved in 2000, parents can leave infants 30 days or younger at state-sanctioned "safe havens" without facing criminal punishment. The unidentified woman who gave up her baby Sunday will not face abandonment charges, said Dr. Cleo Allen, spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Social Services.

"All of the criteria have been met," Allen said. "The child was a newborn and given to the appropriate personnel." The baby "was in absolute, fine condition. There was no evidence of abuse or neglect. She used the law correctly."

The woman approached the paramedics just after noon Sunday in the parking lot of Arby's Roast Beef Restaurant, 3847 Veterans Memorial Blvd., according to a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office report.

The paramedics were from East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie and had just finished lunch. They were walking to their ambulance when a woman in her early 20s and in tears pulled up next to them in a sport utility vehicle, the report said. The tiny baby girl was on the front passenger seat.

The woman sobbed as she told one of the paramedics that she learned about "safe haven drops" on the Internet, the report said.

The paramedic confirmed that she could take the child and the woman would avoid any legal trouble, the report said. The woman told the paramedic she had given birth to the little girl earlier that day at home and asked that they take the baby, the report said. After confirming that the child had no medical problems, the woman drove off, visibly upset, the report said.

The baby is now in state custody, Allen said. The child's parents have 30 days to change their minds. Then the state will begin proceedings to allow the child to be adopted.

The list of state-approved "safe haven" facilities includes hospitals and police and fire stations. Allen said paramedics are on that list, as well.

"In this case, they're considered to be a facility," she said.

The state's safe haven act was passed in 2000. No one took advantage of the law until May 2004, when the parent or parents of a baby girl relinquished custody of the child in Slidell, according to Allen.

That's because nobody knew about the law, she said. The state had no money to publicize it. The state revised the act in 2003 with fleshed-out policies and money for advertising. The state also teamed with Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana and child advocacy agencies to get the word out.

Of the six infants given to the state under the safe haven law, four were in the New Orleans area. They include the baby in Slidell in 2004, two in New Orleans in 2005 and the infant given to the paramedics Sunday, according to Allen. No agency has kept exact track of the number of abandoned newborns in the state, but Allen said her office knows only of the six.

Allen said the state wants to use the most recent incident to remind parents of unwanted infants that there is an alternative to some of the horrific tales of abandonment.

"There is a way to relinquish an infant without penalty and safely," she said. "The safety of the child is always paramount with us."

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For more information about Safe Haven, call (800) 244-5373 or visit the Louisiana Department of Social Services Web site at www.dss.state.la.us

Michelle Hunter can be reached at mhunter@timespicayune.com or (504) 883-7054.