As residents on quiet, suburban Church Street in Newcastle woke on Tuesday morning – perhaps as they spent their time getting the kids ready for school, or making sure they had everything they needed for work – emergency services disturbed the peace.
Lights and sirens raced down the road.
The residents emerged, wiping their tired eyes as they wandered onto their street to await information on what all the commotion was about.
Never did they expect such tragic news.
Police are on the search for the mother of the newborn baby found dead in a Newcastle backyard. Post continues after video.
NSW emergency services were called to an address on the street in the beachside suburb of Stockton just after 7am, where they were met with the body of an abandoned newborn baby.
At this stage, it’s unclear how or when the baby got there, or who the parents are.
A post-mortem examination will be conducted to determine the age, sex and cause of death, NSW Police said in a statement.
Top Comments
There are many moral and societal issues to be mulled over here regarding safe havens or baby hatches - but this forum is not really the place to discuss them in detail.
Some of the other things were the practical implementation and guidelines surrounding such a proposal and how it may be abused.
What ages are talking here 2 hours. 2 weeks. 2 years. 12 years. Is there a limit?
If the parent using the baby hatch is anonymous and the identity of the child is unknown, how would that stop a mother or father dropping off an unwanted child without the knowledge of the other parent.
What if the parent was going through a tough time and returns at a later point and wants their child back?
I'm not against the proposal, it just seems to be about feeling like we are doing the right thing and finding a "solution" (in one specific scenario) so it gets an auto thumbs up when there are so many factors involved here.
Seems like a no brainer to me. Agree wholeheartedly with:
"A safe measure, where the child could be left somewhere safe and the mother did not have to fear identification or prosecution, would most likely not save all babies whose mothers leave them, but it would save some.
It is undoubtedly better for these children to be abandoned in a safe location than down a drain, buried in sand or left in a suburban backyard, as has happened in this country."