Today, at a hospital in southern Nevada, a loving mother became my hero. I don’t know her… I respect her, admire her, and will remember her.

Who knows her background, her family situation, her lifestyle, her health… Who did she go to, to talk about the different avenues she could take, now that she was pregnant.  Was it a friend, a parent, a girlfriend, a grandparent….who knows.   Whoever it was, I salute you in your patience and your frank talks.

I adopted a little boy  in 1970.  The pregnant lady was engaged and she and her fiancée were ready to graduate from college.    They came to the decision to give the baby up for adoption, and my husband and I became parents, just like that (after 3 years of waiting).  A phone call changed our life path, and also changed theirs.  He was just a few weeks old when he was given to us.

New parents and grandparents were ecstatic, aunts and uncles and cousins were joyous….because of this loving mother and her loving act.

So today, in a moment, at the hospital in southern Nevada, another  birth mother followed thru with a same decision   She gave  up her 22 day old baby to the hospital. Thus begins a new life for a courageous lady, a new baby in wonderful care, and new unknown parents who don’t have a clue…

This law applies almost everywhere……a no questions asked situation where babies can be left at hospitals and fire departments.  It is a life-giving, life altering law that is underused……and that is a shame.

Babies don’t need to die; babies don’t need to be in a situation where the biological mother and/or father cannot or do not want to care for them; babies are babies!    

It is okay to not want to be a parent…..it is okay to make hard decisions about what to do.  It is okay to give your baby to a hospital or a fire department. It is not wrong or bad…..there is no scarlet letter to carry. We have made arrangements for you to hand over your baby to a loving, caring, and safe environment….by law.

Your reasons for being pregnant are of no concern to us or to your baby. This wonderful law provides you with a new  life, a new start, a second chance, a clean slate…….so take this post as an epiphany, an amazing opportunity to start anew. 

No birth mother needs to think she is in a position where there is no way she can protect herself and her baby.  She is  NOT!  She can be fine and her baby can be fine…..she needs only to do it.

Tragic circumstances occur daily because of fear, embarrassment, drugs, and not being educated……It is up to all of us to see how we can spread the word to pregnant ladies who feel lost and alone.

So today, I praise you, I salute you, I am so proud of you…….and there are many nurses cuddling a new baby in a hospital, in southern Nevada.