The August 4 Lincoln Journal Star reported more details in the “safe haven” abandonment of Baby Box Butte, now known as Baby Boy Ana. According to court documents, recounted by reporter Joanne Young, but not released to the public: …show the baby boy still had a partial umbilical cord intact when dropped off by a woman who said she was the child’s aunt. Without giving hospital staff her name or the mother’s name, she provided some family medical history. Two days later, while HHS was working on placing the baby with foster parents who could adopt him, a woman contacted HHS, saying she was the biological mother. Officials met shortly after that with her and the alleged father, maternal grandparents and aunt… …Court documents show the mother, whose name has not been made public, reported she had not known she was pregnant until she went into labor. She had started birth control, but had stopped after three months. She then noticed she was gaining weight, but never larger than “one size in jeans.” She said she thought the “bloating” she was experiencing was from taking the birth control pill. She had a period after stopping the pill and another two Continue Reading →

Here’s updates on the July 20 Box Butte baby dump case. (Go directly below this entry for entries posted by Baby Love Child and me on the case). Thursday and Friday news reports (here, here, and here) circulated that the biological parents of the newborn had contacted authorities as early as July 22, to see about the return of the infant. Saturday, the Alliance Star Herald and Omaha World-Herald gave details. The papers report that on July 22, two days after the baby was left at Box Butte General Hospital, the mother, her relatives, and the baby’s father contacted the hospital, asking for the baby’s return. The baby had been put on a routine 48-hour hold and officials were preparing to release him to a foster-to-adopt family. HHS, consequently, decided to keep the baby for another night at the hospital where both parents visited him, and the mother cared and stayed with him. Reports in both papers are substantially the same. The quote below is from the Alliance Star-Herald, a more detailed account than appears in the World-Herald: The biological parents of a baby boy abandoned under the state’s Safe Haven Act had asked for the baby to be returned Continue Reading →

This morning The Omaha World-Herald and other Nebraska media (here and here) report that the state got its first “safe haven” catch since its new and improved law went into effect late last year. The baby, described as “a male Caucasian newborn less than 30 days of age” was dropped off by a family member at the Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance Monday night. Nebraska’s post-fiasco law permits designated dumpers to drop off babies 30 days and younger no questions asked. Did we say no questions asked? According to Nebraska Health and Human Services Chief Executive Officer Kerry Winterer (RIP Todd Landry), in an HHS press release: “It’s important to gather information like family medical history to meet this child’s current and future needs,” he said. Officials asked that anyone with information call the HHS office in Gering at 308-436-6559, the Box Butte County Sheriff’s Office at 308-762-6464, the Alliance Police Department at 308-762-4955 or the Nebraska State Patrol at 308-632-1211. What ever happened to no shame, no blame, no name? The press release does not appear on the state’s “safe haven” page or HHS press release page. If and when it does, I’ll link it here. I’ll also Continue Reading →