HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Investigators are calling it an epidemic: parents abandoning their babies.
ABC13 has reported on six instances of child abandonment in Harris County since the beginning of June. In two cases, children died.
READ RELATED: Multiple babies found abandoned last month in Houston: ‘It’s heartbreaking’
Leah Kipley with the National Safe Haven Alliance said the landscape is troubling.
States like Texas with near-total abortion bans are dealing with more parents abandoning their children for several reasons like desperation and a lack of information.
Texas’ safe haven law, or the Baby Moses law, allows a parent to leave a baby less than 60 days old safe and unharmed at a hospital, fire station, or EMS station.
They must notify an employee that the child needs a safe haven.
Though this type of law exists nationwide, Kipley said parents still need more support.
The National Safe Haven Alliance has helped save more than 4,800 babies since 1999. Their hotline for immediate assistance is 1-888-510-BABY(2229).
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