The number of abandoned babies in Texas has surged, raising concerns about the impact of recent abortion laws and access to healthcare.
Houston: This year, at least 18 babies have been abandoned in Texas, which is more than double the number from ten years ago. It’s a troubling trend that many believe is tied to stricter abortion laws and limited access to prenatal care.
In Texas, a lot of women don’t have health insurance, which makes things even tougher. In Houston, police have identified parents in some of the cases, but only one person has faced charges so far.
That person is an 18-year-old woman from Guatemala. She said she didn’t know much about sex education and claimed a relative had raped her. She only found out she was pregnant seven months later. The relative denied it when interviewed.
Security footage showed her giving birth in a parking lot and then leaving the baby in a dumpster. She was scared to go to a clinic because she heard stories about deportation for migrants.
She didn’t know what to do when she went into labor and wasn’t aware of Texas’s safe haven law, which lets parents drop off unharmed newborns at certain places without getting in trouble.
Most parents who abandon their kids seem to be in desperate situations. Despite the rising numbers, lawmakers haven’t put money into awareness campaigns to prevent these incidents.
Instead, they allocated funds for programs that promote alternatives to abortion, like crisis pregnancy centers. These centers have faced criticism for misleading young women who are looking for help.
Other states have invested in campaigns and hotlines to help stop child abandonment. Texas did pass a law for Safe Haven Baby Boxes, which are installed at fire stations. They’re climate-controlled and have alarms to alert first responders if a baby is placed inside.
It’s still too soon to see how effective these boxes will be. Just a day after one was set up in Lubbock, a baby was found in a dumpster there.
