A brief story over on the Huffington Post discusses a news story of a woman who delivered, and abandoned her newborn in a portable toilet used by construction workers.  There is a very unnecessary video which films the inside of a port-o-potty included, in case you have never seen one.  Apparently the 44 year old Cambridge woman delivered the infant, left it in the toilet, and went outside to smoke a cigarette.  Bystanders noticed the woman covered in blood, and called 911 to investigate.  Both mom and infant were brought to the hospital.  The infant has been stabilized and appears to be full term, weighing close to 6 pounds.

This story is horrible and tragic.  The court of public opinion that is the internet has already hung this mom as a murderer.  She could have delivered anywhere and dropped the baby off at an ER, fire station, etc without persecution under Safe Haven laws.  So many people are looking to adopt newborns, why didn’t she put the baby up for adoption?  Who would let a newborn drowned and freeze to death in a toilet?

I can tell you from years of experience what I think happened in this case.  The mom is most likely mentally ill, or a drug abuser, or both.  She appeared to be disconnected from the reality of what was happening.  This will happen with both mental illness and drug abuse.  What is sad to me is that she was able to get pregnant.  What is her history? Did she have any access to healthcare or birth control?  Where are her other children? Who is the father?  Was she selling herself for money or drugs?  Nothing is black and white, as the commenters on the internet believe.

I am not in anyway justifying what happened to this newborn as OK.  It is not.  I just believe there is more to the story than meets the eye.  Not that anyone cares what that story is.

RR