Case of abandoned child raises difficult questions

By LINDA MAN The Kansas City Star

When police caught up with Cindy Turman on Thursday, they had a burning
question: Why?

Why would a Kansas City mother strap her healthy 8-month-old son,
Aaron, into a car seat and arrange to have him left on the emergency
room counter at Truman Medical Center?

Turman, 21, told police that she couldn't handle being a parent, felt
her son deserved a better home and said she knew about Missouri's
"Baby Moses" law.

The "Baby Moses" law, passed in 2002, is officially known as the
Safe Place for Newborns Act. It gives parents a pass from prosecution
if they abandon their unharmed child with hospital employees,
firefighters, emergency medical technicians or law enforcement
officers.

However, the child must be 30 days old or younger.

Because of Aaron's age, the statute does not apply. He is now in foster
care.

Kansas City police said Turman's boyfriend, David Gardino, left the
child on the counter without saying a word. Soon afterward, police
flashed the baby's picture on the news, seeking information about the
parents.

When the father was found, he said he had no idea Turman would abandon
the child.

Although Kansas City police said the incident doesn't rise to the level
of a crime, Jackson County prosecutors said they are undecided on
whether to file charges.

Aside from the legalities, was Aaron's abandonment at the hospital a
sign that the law works?

Missouri Sen. Michael Gibbons, who sponsored the law, said it was
intended for inexperienced teenage parents who are panic-stricken.

"There is some pretty gross negligence or irresponsibility here,"
said Gibbons, referring to the Turman case. "We didn't want to make
this a quickie form of adoption. We want to encourage responsible
parenting."

Gibbons suggested that legislators should consider strengthening
Missouri's abandonment and neglect laws to avoid scenarios where
parents abandon their children after having them for a long period of
time.

However, law professor Douglas Abrams, who helped draft the law, said
the Turman case shows the spirit of the law does work, even if the case
doesn't follow the letter of the law

"Abandoning the child is not something that somebody does lightly,"
said Abrams, who teaches at the University of Missouri-Columbia. "The
parent may be scared, immature, desperate.

"To bring the child safely to the hospital is an act of love."

Abrams said he has heard fears that allowing parents to drop off their
children at police and fire departments would "open the floodgates"
to dumping children on public authorities.

Abrams' answer: "That hasn't happened."

In fact, Aaron is one of only a handful of children in Missouri who
have been left with authorities in safe spots since the law passed.

In Kansas, parents can hand over an infant less than 45 days old
without fearing prosecution. The baby must be unharmed and given to an
employee of a city or county health department, fire station or medical
facility.

Police Chief Jeff Blom of Butler, Mo., where the mother was found
Thursday, suggested that the 30-day window was too short.

"What we've got is a hole in the system," he said.

In 1998, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services collected
media reports of 105 abandoned babies. Thirty-three were found dead.

Ruth Ehresman, public policy director for Citizens for Missouri's
Children, said the law works in rare cases.

"Certainly, bringing a baby to a safe place is better than dumping
him in a dumpster," she said. "But what is at the root of giving up
the baby? Are there problems that are solvable?"

Since leaving Aaron at the hospital, Turman and Gardino spent time in a
Butler motel, apparently upset at having given up the child. Acting on
a tip, Butler police found the couple there Thursday morning.

Gardino told television reporters Thursday that he and Turman acted in
the best interest of the baby and that they did not reach the decision
lightly.

Blom said Turman told him that she accompanied Gardino to Truman
Medical Center, but did not enter because she was overwhelmed with
emotion. She also told Blom that it was her idea to leave the child at
the hospital. She said she had no place to stay.

Meanwhile, Turman's mother Bernice Burton and Aaron's father have both
said they want custody. Burton had been the child's primary caregiver,
police said.

"I still love you," Burton said of her daughter. "I wish you
would come home."

The Star's Russ Pulley contributed to this report.