Cradles could help improve Safe Havens

An article in your paper by Javeed Akhter chronicled the life of Abdul Edhi, a humanitarian in India and Pakistan. He had a 60-year career of denying wealth for himself and helping the poor.

Many parents in those countries were unable to provide for their children, so a focus of Abdul Edhi was to provide cradles outside buildings so these parents could safely place the child into the cradle and thus the child was placed in a home or orphanage.

Our Safe Haven law has been in effect since 1999 and provides for infants in good condition to be left at hospitals and fire or police stations without any punishment for the parent. Still, we hear of infants being found in bushes or trash cans, indicating the law is not well-known for those who need it.

Would it be possible to have cradles placed outside the hospitals, etc., in plain sight, making the decision of a parent easier and perhaps preventing the loss of the life of an infant.

I bet there are many good Samaritans who would love to make or provide a cradle for such purpose.

Doris Jordan

Elk Grove Village