Despite new law, another newborn abandoned

Jace Radke and Emily Richmond

Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2001 | 11:13 a.m.

The Junior League of Las Vegas, which helped author a new law making it easier for mothers to safely abandon a newborn at a hospital or with emergency service providers, said Monday's discovery of an infant girl on top of a trash bin is proof that more needs to be done to get the message out.

The law, which went into effect May 31, did not include funding for public education, said Louise Helton, president of the Las Vegas Junior League. Helton said she's hoping corporate partners will volunteer to help the league with the public service campaign.

The league is looking for donated billboard space and one television station has already stepped forward with announcements about the law in English and Spanish, she said.

"These laws happen, and people don't necessarily get a memo," Helton said.

If people are reminded of the safe haven options on a regular basis, they'll hopefully remember them once they're in "crisis mode," Helton said.

Assembly Bill 191, sponsored by Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, and Assemblywoman Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, was designed to offer desperate mothers a way to safely abandon an infant.

Cegavske said that the mother in Monday's case may not have known about the law or chose not to use the option it offered. Although the law is on the books, work still needs to be done to inform the public about the life-saving choice it provides, Cegavske said.

"We're working on the logistics of getting this out there," Cegavske said. "We have to figure out how to get the information to the people that need it most. It could be through different clinics and places where we can reach the homeless, teen mothers and mothers with drug and alcohol addictions."

The State Assembly's Health and Human Services committee has considered starting a website about the law, and producing brochures, Cegavske said.

"There was no money in the legislative session to help us with this, so we're going to have to work to find donations and sponsors to help get the word out," Cegavske said.

Helton said she was grateful that the baby found Monday was alive and in good condition at University Medical Center.

"So many of these stories have tragic endings," Helton said. "At least this baby has a chance."

A maintenance man about 8 a.m. at a West Charleston Boulevard apartment complex near Cimarron Road, Metro Police said.

The baby's mother was located and questioned by detectives about an hour after the child was found at the Silver Shadow Vistas complex, 8301 W. Charleston, police said. The District Attorney's office will decide if any charges will be filed against the baby's mother, 28. A hearing in Family Court later this week will determine what will be done with the newborn.

The law allows a parent to abandon an unwanted infant at places like hospitals, or police and fire stations. It requires that a baby be handed over to an emergency services provider, or placed somewhere safe on the property where it can be found. The baby must be less than 30 days old and in good health, in order to be abandoned.

Denise Fowler, executive director of Planned Parenthood of Southern Nevada, says that her organization focuses on preventing pregnancies that lead to abandonment, but added that they do support the law and inform people about it.

"The law is a good thing, but only if people use it," Fowler said. "People really need the information about the resources that are avaliable to them. The people that need to know about things like this law the most are not the people that are reading the newspaper or watching TV. Many times these people are desperate and act out of fear."

Monday's incident was the third time this year that a newborn was found near a trash dumpster. On Feb. 6 a dead baby was found in a dumpster behind a convenience store at Olive and Atlantic streets, and on May 24 a newborn's body was found wrapped in plastic in a pile of trash behind Harrah's hotel-casino.