I’ve been falling down on the job again. I’ll have a major blog up (hopefully today, but I’m not sure) and get back in the saddle again, as Gene Autry once sang.
In the meantime, I suggest you check out Baby Love Child’s new entry, Unsafe haven: Dead baby found inside hospital, “about 100 feet” from the hospital’s dumpbox:
For those who insist a “safe haven” babydump box in every hospital would ensure their mythical ‘no dead babies,’ think again.
Case in point?
Glendale, AZ, where a 15 year old gave birth in the hospital bathroom, leaving a baby boy in the bathroom trash can, “about 100 feet from a Safe Haven” dumpbox.
Then, from the news story itself:
Glendale police are investigating a baby found dead in a hospital, allegedly in a trash can. The baby was found on Saturday in the emergency room at Banner Thunderbird Hospital, only about 100 feet from a Safe Haven drop-off location. A teen went to the emergency room with her mother complaining of stomach and back pains.
BLC has visited the Banner Thunderbird Hospital and posts her personal pictures of the dumpbox on her blog.
Also check out the bizarre but important propaganda video that accompanies the news story, linked in BLC’s entry.
Watch Kimberly Marshall, who is not a physician as labeled in the news report , but the RN who manages the hospital’s Pediatric Ed Clinic, demonstrate how to lickety-split dump an anonymous baby into the hospital deposit box. Listen to Marshall, lecture mindlessly that the tragedy could have been avoided if the 15-year old mom had dropped the baby into the dump box. Instead of…what? She was at the freaking ER with her mother for Pete’s sake!
Apparently in MarshallWorld, this is how the affair should have played out:
Teen in labor, who may be in deep denial she’s pregnant, goes to the ER, accompanied by mother, for treatment of severe stomach pain. Gives “surprise” birth in bathroom while waiting to see doctor. Walks out bloody, with bloody (dead?) baby wrapped in toilet paper, unnoticed by her mother and others, deposits package in nearby dumpbox, and goes home, miraculously free of pain.
Maybe Kim Marshall slept through Logic 101. Or maybe there’s more.
Ignored by the press, at least in this specific report, is the fact is Kimberly Marshall is the head of the Arizona Safe Baby Haven Coalition pimping tragedy to pimp her agenda. (See above link to her name for more background)
Yesterday, a similar case (sans the dumpbox) was reported in Warner Robbins, Georgia, though no suspect has been questioned yet.
In 2008. Genny Grandanos, waiting to see a doctor for treatment of stomach pains, gave birth in the lobby restroom at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital in Houston, Texas and left the baby in a trash bin
Several years ago a Michigan teen also delivered and dumped in an ER. (I don’t have time to check the reference right now.)
There may be more.
As always, Marley, thanks again for the tremendous work you’re doing finding the other critical pieces of this story.
I think it’s pretty clear in this case, we’re likely either discussing a girl who was unaware of her pregnancy OR in such deep shame and fear as to be unable to acknowledge such.
Walking past a dumpbox on the way into an ER isn’t going to mean a thing to a girl unaware of her own pregnancy and exactly as you so clearly pointed out, the notion of her using it after the birthgiving in the bathroom seems rather nonsensical at best.
As always, such illogical scenarios also blatantly ignore the genuine health needs of the girls or women themselves, leaving them to fend for themselves after they would utilize the dumpbox.
How any of this could in any way shape or form be mistaken for genuine health care is simply beyond me.
Women and girls, as well as the “dumplings” themselves deserve so much more.
I wish someone would really look into the mindset of women who comepletely deny, to themselves as well as others, that they are pregnant, and how these women who Safe Haven advertising is targeted towards won’t even see it because it does not apply to them. They are not pregnant, and it is just a stomach ache! When they give birth, it is not a child, just evidence to be disposed of. This awful story clearly illustrates that. And as BLC says, their health and safety are just ignored.
I love the term “Dumplings”:-)
From what I’ve seen, for some women there is a genuine disconnect, in which yes, they do not seem to cognize any of this as genuinely happening to them. There may be an empathy disconnect as well, a failure to view the resultant child as a child.
For others though, learning that they’ve been pregnant all this time is a genuine shock, they had no indication and now find themselves delivering. Some women either continue to ‘spot’ or even bleed while pregnant, other’s periods are so irregular and unpredictable that some of the usual indicators simply are not there.
Add in low birth weight babies and lack of prenatal care (as the woman was unaware she was even pregnant) and put simply, what signs are available to her may appear more like slight weight gain (often explained away if one has for example a history of weight loss and gain yo-yo-ing) etc.
Either way, what research has been done seems to show that these are not women who are going to feel a personal stake in much of the dump marketing until it’s beyond too late, if ever.
(Perhaps I’m not explaining this very well this morning, Marley may be able to explain and put together some links, at the moment, I simply don’t have the time to try to pull anything together.)
IF YOU ARE GOING TO WRIGHT A STORY YOU SHOULD GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT YOU ALL MAKE ME SOUND LIKE A MONSTER BUT I’M NOT. I am 16 now my son was born on Saturday September 26th 2009. His name is LEO. so you want to wright a story making me sound like a monster well here is the truth about every thing. I was sexually assaulted by my step father NUMEROUS times. Yes I did have my period every month I never got bigger, never had any cravings, no morning sickness, or any of the other symptoms. I had a school and sports physical on AUGUST 17th and my Dr DIDN’T EVEN KNOW I was pregnant so no I was not denying or ashamed of my son. I was in labor for about 14 hours all together but it didn’t start to hurt until about 30 minutes before I went to the hospital. that is why I went to the hospital. NO I DID NOT SEE THE SAFE HAVEN. I did go to the ER with pains and yes I did deliver my son by my self in the bathroom. BUT I DIDN’T JUST PUT HIM IN THE TRASH AND LEAVE OK. I WAS IN THE BATHROOM FOR A WHILE. I HAD DELIVERED HIM AND HE WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BABY BOY IV EVER SEEN. BUT HE WAS NOT BREATHING I TRIED TO REVIVE HIM BUT NO MATTER WHAT I DID IT DIDN’T WORK. SO I FINALLY PUT HIM DOWN IN THE TRASH VERY GENTLY AND KEPT THE TOP OFF SO I KNEW SOME ONE WOULD FIND HIM.I WAS HOPING FOR IT. The doctors said that they tried to revive him for 2 hours but had no luck due to the fact that he was BRAIN DEAD. The coroner did an autopsy on him and found no foul play I NEVER DID ANY THING TO HARM MY SON EVER I LOVE MY BABY BOY SO MUCH.
SINCERELY
HIS LOVING MOTHER
His Mother:
Thanks for sharing your story. You clearly illustrate why SH doesn’t work and won’t work. Your situation, (not you personally) in fact is one that we have written about extensively You were severely sexually abused by your stepfather. If Leo had lived and had been SH’d the promoters would celebrate that a baby had been saved, and relegated you brave mother status, and you could have gone back to being raped some more. Their concern is not sexual abuse, or how a baby is conceived or born. It’s only about saving the baby–not you. Those of us who oppose SH care about moms, too.
Nowhere in this blog has anyone made you out to be a monster Our problem is with the Safe Haven system, whose promoters exploit girls and women like you in unhappy circumstances to advertise their services. That you did not use the SH option is used as an excuse to raise money for advertising. It’s a travesty.
I’m happy you’ve spoken up and hope you have found some help and peace.