Editorial: Get word out about safe havens

Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2001 | 9:10 a.m.

It was heartbreaking to learn Monday that another newborn baby was abandoned in a garbage bin -- the third time that such an abandonment has occurred in the Las Vegas Valley in the past six months. In the two previous instances, the babies died. But this time the baby -- left inside a shoe box atop a garbage bin -- was discovered soon enough and survived.

What makes this abandonment even more difficult to comprehend is that the 2001 Legislature passed a new law to avoid such tragedies. Parents can avoid prosecution of child abandonment as long as they leave their newborns in a safe place. Under the new law, whose main sponsors were Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, and Assemblywoman Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, a parent can leave the child at hospitals or at police and fire stations -- no questions asked. In this latest incident the baby was left in a garbage bin inside an apartment complex just a short distance away from a fire station, one of those save havens created by the new law.

There have been plenty of news stories describing the new legislation, but obviously that isn't enough, especially since not everyone reads a newspaper or watches television news. Unfortunately the Legislature didn't provide any money to fund an awareness campaign to publicize the law through other means, so nonprofit groups, hospitals, doctors, schools and churches will have to take it upon themselves to educate people about this new legislation. The Junior League of Las Vegas, which supported passage of the law, is hoping corporations will help sponsor this much-needed awareness campaign.

It's not the first time that a law has been passed, or a new government program has been created, that hasn't initially met with the kind of success that originally had been anticipated. For instance, a few years ago a health insurance program was set up for Nevada children from low-income families, allowing them to get the essential medical care they need. Initially the program fell far short of its enrollment goals, however. But after state government expanded its outreach efforts -- by actively involving churches, schools and other community-based organizations -- it resulted in a sizable increase in the number of families who signed up for this worthy program.

It is impossible to fathom what would drive someone to leave a defenseless baby in a garbage bin to die. But sadly, in some instances, there are parents who believe there is no other way to deal with an unwanted pregnancy. These despairing parents need to know that they have a choice, one that will save the babies, allowing them an opportunity to be adopted by another family so that they can grow up in a loving and caring home.