{"id":322086,"date":"2024-11-23T15:30:39","date_gmt":"2024-11-23T21:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=322086"},"modified":"2024-11-22T20:34:03","modified_gmt":"2024-11-23T02:34:03","slug":"baby-found-abandoned-walking-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/baby-found-abandoned-walking-trail\/","title":{"rendered":"Newborn found abandoned on San Antonio walking trail underscores need for safe haven awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

A newborn baby, with umbilical cord still attached, was found near a walking trail adjacent to Austin Highway on the northeast side of San Antonio this week, reports local news source <\/span>WOAI<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Officers responded to the area around 3:30 pm on November 19th after they received a report of an assault. When they arrived on scene, they found a man carrying a newborn with an umbilical cord attached. The man said he discovered the baby abandoned by a hiking trail near Salado Creek Greenway. He alerted nearby construction workers who called the police.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When police arrived, the unnamed man told them he had seen a woman leaving the area just before he discovered the newborn. Later, <\/span>Julie Ann Alexander, 37, <\/span>was arrested<\/span><\/a> for child abandonment\/endangerment of a child. Alexander, who is <\/span>homeless<\/span><\/a>, reportedly gave birth to the baby in that area and then went to a local bar to have a cigarette. Both mother and baby were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Alexander is <\/span>currently<\/span><\/a> at the Bexar County jail.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The area where the newborn was found was just down the road from San Antonio Fire Station 24, and the proximity has raised frustrations among local advocates about how this could have been avoided. According to Texas\u2019 Baby Moses or <\/span>Safe Haven Law<\/span><\/a>, a baby younger than 60 days old can be safely and legally surrendered at any fire station, hospital, or EMS location.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pam Allen of <\/span>Eagle\u2019s Flight Advocacy and Outreach<\/span><\/a>, a nonprofit that assists lower-income families, expressed her own concern and frustration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an act of desperation,\u201d said Allen to <\/span>News 4 San Antonio<\/span><\/a>. \u201dIf you have a newborn up to 60 days, you can safely surrender that newborn at a fire station, and no charges will be filed against you. Right now, that mother is looking at child abandonment charges.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

READ: She was determined to have an abortion. Then, the light of one lamp changed her mind.<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

As Live Action News has <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a>, Safe Haven Baby Boxes add a layer of anonymity to allow parents to surrender infants safely. A parent desperate enough to surrender an infant \u2013 such as a mother who may be an addict<\/a>, or who may be trafficked<\/a>, or in an <\/span>abusive relationship<\/span><\/a> \u2013 can put her infant in a temperature-controlled box built into the side of a safe location such as a fire station. The box provides critical information and resources for the mother, including how to regain custody of her infant if she chooses. The box is accessed by the mother on the outside of the building; it then locks once the infant is placed inside, and an alarm sounds inside the building to alert fire and rescue personnel to the baby\u2019s presence. In this way, the mother\u2019s identity can be kept secret.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2023, Governor Greg Abbott <\/span>signed a bill expanding Texas\u2019 Safe Haven Laws<\/span><\/a> to allow for the Baby Boxes to be installed. In April of this year, Abilene <\/span>installed<\/span><\/a> its first box. According to WOAI, last year the San Antonio City Council set aside $438,000 for Safe Haven Baby Boxes to be installed in fire stations like the one near the site of Alexander\u2019s infant\u2019s abandonment. So far, however, none have been installed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Joe Arrington of the San Antonio Police Department says that\u2019s because <\/span>they<\/span><\/i> prefer an in-person handoff, removing the critical and sometimes lifesaving choice for a mother to remain anonymous.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAs we said all along, we would prefer that person-to-person handoff so we can get the history of the baby. What we stress is it\u2019s not a judgment thing by any stretch of the imagination, it\u2019s just to get the welfare of the baby,\u201d he said to <\/span>KENS5<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Allen is still hoping to get the word out about the state\u2019s law, and is simply grateful no harm came to the baby in Tuesday\u2019s incident.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve been kicking around ideas with some of our city leaders about the Baby Moses law on bus stops, doing a QR code having some more information out there,\u201d Allen said to WOAI. \u201cI think the relief for me was knowing the baby was still alive and that the umbilical cord was attached and thinking, here’s one that doesn’t have to be charged with murder, here’s one where she may be charged with abandonment. Thank God that baby is alive.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Texas currently has the <\/span>highest infant abandonment rate<\/span><\/a> in the nation, despite its Safe Haven Law<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Call on President Trump to pardon the FACE Act prisoners on his first day in office.<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A newborn baby, with umbilical cord still attached, was found near a walking trail adjacent to Austin Highway on the northeast side of San Antonio this week, reports local news source WOAI.\u00a0 Officers responded to the area around 3:30 pm on November 19th after they received a report of an assault. When they arrived on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":606,"featured_media":222129,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[9455,3473],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nNewborn found abandoned on San Antonio walking trail underscores need for safe haven awareness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A newborn with cord still attached was found near a walking trail adjacent to Austin Highway on the northeast side of San Antonio this week.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/baby-found-abandoned-walking-trail\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Newborn found abandoned on San Antonio walking trail 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