Lakeland, Florida resident Magdalena Gregorio Ordonez says she was at home when a noise caught her attention. She initially thought it was a cat, but after the cries continued, she decided to investigate. She soon found the source of the noise was a newborn baby girl.
"We found this baby who was six and a half pounds, fully developed, very healthy," Sheriff Grady Judd told local news outlets. "[She] now has some insect bites for being in the woods at least an hour and a half, wrapped in some old blankets and left there with still the umbilical and the placenta attached."
Based upon the baby's body temperature, Polk County Fire and Rescue Department estimated that she had been born approximately one hour before Ordonez found her. The baby is now in the hospital and is in stable condition, but her mother has not yet been located.
In Ardmore, Oklahoma, police were recently called to a church, the House of Prayer, where they found that a baby had been left in the church's dumpster. The mother apparently had second thoughts, called police, and informed them were to find the child, who was several weeks old.
Within eight days, seven abandoned babies were found in different communities across the nation.
Live Action News points out that Florida does have a Safe Haven law in place that was enacted in 2000, allowing parents to anonymously leave their newborn babies (up to a week old) at a Safe Haven facility without fear of prosecution. In fact, every state in the U.S. has its own Safe Haven law, but like Lakeland, Florida and Ardmore Oklahoma, not every community has a Safe Haven Baby Box.
Safe Haven boxes have been installed at several fire stations, hospitals, and police buildings throughout the country, offering a place for people to legally abandon their unwanted infants, no questions asked.
Image above is of a Safe Haven Baby Box drop-off in Benton, Arkansas
