A Calgary mother is calling for the introduction of safe drop sites for unwanted babies after she heard about an abandoned newborn found dead in one of the cityâs parking lots earlier this week.
The infant girlâs body was discovered in a parking lot behind a grocery store in Calgaryâs Bowness neighbourhood on Christmas Eve. An autopsy revealed the newborn had been âalive at some pointâ but the cause of death is still undetermined, Calgary Police said on Tuesday.
Police are still searching for her mother and appealing to the public for help in locating her.
As a mother of three children, including one infant, Trisha McIntosh told CTV Calgary she was troubled when she heard about the infant girlâs death.
âIâm a mom myself and it just hits real close to home, especially here in Calgaryâ she said on Wednesday. âItâs sad.â
McIntosh said she believes the newborn was left in that parking lot because the mother felt she didnât have any other options available to her. To prevent a future tragedy, McIntosh is advocating for the introduction of âangel cradlesâ or âbaby boxesâ that would allow mothers to anonymously leave their newborns in a safe place with no questions asked.
In Vancouver, St. Paulâs Hospital has installed a small door outside its emergency department, which houses a crib and a blanket, as part of its âAngelâs Cradleâ program. Once a baby is placed inside the door, an alarm is triggered a minute later to alert the staff of the infantâs presence. The infant is then given medical treatment and eventually placed in the care of social services.
In Edmonton, a similar baby box program was launched at two hospitals by Albertaâs Covenant Health in 2013. The Catholic health-care provider doesnât run any programs in Calgary, something McIntosh is hoping to change.
McIntosh said sheâs currently waiting for a response from officials at the City of Calgary and from Misericordia Community Hospital in Edmonton, where the angel cradles program is already in place, about introducing the concept in Calgary.
âI feel like every major city should have a safe place that a baby can be brought to that a mother, or any person, doesnât feel the need to be subjected to questioning,â McIntosh said.
In the U.S., there are expansive âsafe haven lawsâ that decriminalize abandoning infants at safe locations, such as police stations, fire departments or hospitals. In Canada, however, itâs still a criminal offence to abandon a newborn unless the mother uses one of the few baby box programs in place.
Although Calgary is still without an âAngelâs Cradleâ program, McIntosh said sheâs determined to make it a reality in her city.
âEven if the box is used one time, thatâs one infant not found behind a grocery store on Christmas Eve,â McIntosh said as she choked back tears.
With a report from CTV Calgaryâs Alesia Fieldberg
