UK - Three abandoned babies (2017, 2019, 2024) full siblings found in London

[Dotta]

The best place would be at a hospital, after a child being born, to be given up for adoption, and that there should not be any shaming of a woman who for some reason felt that she was unable to take care of an unwanted child. Today, in many cases if a woman decides to give up a child, she is seen as a "unnatural mother", often both by family and by strangers, as she is expected to want to take care of a baby. I wonder how many women have been pressured into take care of a child they didn't want/felt unable to take care of, by family and/or societal expectations of how "motherhood will change you". Maybe some of those babies/children being found dead would have been alive if a woman would have been allowed to give up the child, without being judged for it.

Mind you,
there are mothers who, for whatever reason,
DON'T give birth in HOSPITALS.

But do this in secret.

JMO

 

[Rikissa]

Mind you,
there are mothers who, for whatever reason,
DON'T give birth in HOSPITALS.

But do this in secret.

JMO

Yes, I know, but isn't it often because they are afraid of being shamed by family/society for getting pregnant too young/out of wedlock/and so on? If there was no fear of shaming, wouldn't most of them chose a safe hospital birth/giving birth with a skilled midwife at home, rather than in secret, maybe without help?

 

[ChatteringBirds]

To suddenly have an "unknown" child pop up can cause havoc for the birth parents later.

Well two other options are worse -- for a woman to raise a child against her preference or abandon the baby in the streets, such as these three were. In which case, genetic geneology can still be used to hopefully trace back the biological parents, and then they have a much bigger problem than a living child appearing on an Ancestry tree.

The alternative of a formal open-adoption is lovely, but it isn't always possible...

 

[lightofmine99]

If these are all siblings, my first unfortunate hypothesis is that they might all be products from abuse. Especially if the babies were all just abandoned out in the open, near a street, and in the elements (albeit wrapped up) instead of at a hospital, a church, a nice home's doorstep, etc. Abandoning a baby for someone else to take is supposed to be anonymous but they would definitely not want to be caught and questioned. MOO.

Does the United Kingdom have anything similar to the Safe Haven Laws (a.k.a Baby Moses's Laws) and baby boxes in the United States?

I agree that a major downside to baby boxes and Safe Haven Laws is that adopters have no idea about the medical history of the parents, which would be beneficial for the child's healthcare. Aside from humbly asking mothers/parents leaving their kids in a box to leave a note stating any potential health issues with the infant, I don't think there's a way to fix it. It is just a risk adopters have to take. MOO.

Hopefully Harry and Roman went to good homes and Elsa will also get a good home soon. <3

 

[Sarahlou]

^ No we don't have baby boxes here.

This is such a sad situation for all these babies. I'm concerned about the mother too, I really wish they were able to find her.

 

[steeltowngirl]

Hopefully Harry and Roman went to good homes and Elsa will also get a good home soon. <3

I wish the 3 could be together, but realize that’s not likely. I hope that later in life they will have a way to connect, if they desire.

 

[Pseudonymph]

Abandoning an infant anonymously but safely should not be a crime in any country. Kids are killed all the time by parents who don't want them. No baby should have to freeze to death just because authorities would prefer that moms walk up to the hospital door and give all their info.

 

[Pseudonymph]

I don't think that would affect the law in the UK though.
MOO

Northern Ireland is part of the UK (though that's obviously a touchy subject) and the news about Irish mother and baby homes including the Magdalen Laundries was international. England's not without its own history of adoption scandals either.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

^ No we don't have baby boxes here.

This is such a sad situation for all these babies. I'm concerned about the mother too, I really wish they were able to find her.

Maybe with the extra attention this case is getting, they will eventually identify the bio-parents. Someone may remember something suspicious about a neighbor, for example. Or someone in the area may have private security cameras. Hoping.

 

[dotr]

Maybe stretching the imagination a bit, but some women tend to have more than one set of twins, any chance this is the case here- gain 2, keep one? speculation, imo.

 

[amandab]

Maybe with the extra attention this case is getting, they will eventually identify the bio-parents. Someone may remember something suspicious about a neighbor, for example. Or someone in the area may have private security cameras. Hoping.

RIGHT - that got me thinking, isn't London known for having CCTV practically everywhere? (Ignorant American here, my apologies if I'm 1000% wrong)

 

[BreadnLumpit]

RIGHT - that got me thinking, isn't London known for having CCTV practically everywhere? (Ignorant American here, my apologies if I'm 1000% wrong)

No, you're absolutely right - London (along with most urban areas of the UK) is absolutely bristling with CCTV cameras, and that's without even counting all the private CCTV, ring doorbells and dashcams.

I'm astounded that nothing has been picked up on CCTV around the area where Elsa was left tbh.

 

[seasideForest]

Northern Ireland is part of the UK

Yes, I know. The clue is in the name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
You mentioned "Ireland", I assumed you meant the Republic of Ireland.

Nevertheless I stand by my opinion that scandals of this nature in the Rep. of Ireland and even in Northern Ireland (where there were also mother and baby homes) are unlikely to have affected this type of law in the UK as a whole or in England and Wales on its own.

I was a bit vague and clumsy in the post you're referring to because Northern Ireland has - like Scotland - its own legal system, separate from England and Wales. Another reason to make it even less likely that something going on in secret in the past away across the Irish Sea would affect the law in E&W now. MOO

Also it takes time for any society to absorb this type of 'hidden away' and shameful action from the past, mull it over subconsciously as a people, come to grips with it, react and then take action including changes to law. IMO

Anyway, as yet there are no safe havens in Britain and probably not in NI. I haven't checked the latter but I assume there are none. Just a hunch. For abandoned babies in London, only the law in E&W is relevant.

 

[Macha]

If these are all siblings, my first unfortunate hypothesis is that they might all be products from abuse. Especially if the babies were all just abandoned out in the open, near a street, and in the elements (albeit wrapped up) instead of at a hospital, a church, a nice home's doorstep, etc. Abandoning a baby for someone else to take is supposed to be anonymous but they would definitely not want to be caught and questioned. MOO.

Does the United Kingdom have anything similar to the Safe Haven Laws (a.k.a Baby Moses's Laws) and baby boxes in the United States?

I agree that a major downside to baby boxes and Safe Haven Laws is that adopters have no idea about the medical history of the parents, which would be beneficial for the child's healthcare. Aside from humbly asking mothers/parents leaving their kids in a box to leave a note stating any potential health issues with the infant, I don't think there's a way to fix it. It is just a risk adopters have to take. MOO.

Hopefully Harry and Roman went to good homes and Elsa will also get a good home soon. <

RIGHT - that got me thinking, isn't London known for having CCTV practically everywhere? (Ignorant American here, my apologies if I'm 1000% wrong)

All three babies were found close to the Greenway which is a path on top of the sewer bank from London to the Thames at Becton. There are no cameras on the Greenway. The borough is Newham, one of the roughest and poorest in the United Kingdom. It is also a diverse population of immigrants. The parents obviously live close to the Greenway. I know the area well.

 

[steeltowngirl]

All three babies were found close to the Greenway which is a path on top of the sewer bank from London to the Thames at Becton. There are no cameras on the Greenway. The borough is Newham, one of the roughest and poorest in the United Kingdom. It is also a diverse population of immigrants. The parents obviously live close to the Greenway. I know the area well.

Possibly a unhoused couple? Perhaps they shelter in the underground sewer system.

 

[Macha]

Possibly a unhoused couple? Perhaps they shelter in the underground sewer system.

Definitely not underground in the sewer. That's not possible.
I feel that some poor girl/woman is being abused and she doesn't know where to get help due to cultural differences possibly.

 

[cuffem]

I have some questions about birth control. Is it readily available in the UK? Is it expensive? You would think with this happening the first time they would not want to continue getting pregnant unless of religious beliefs against birth control. Would using condoms be apart of that religious belief?

 

[Sarahlou]

I have some questions about birth control. Is it readily available in the UK? Is it expensive? You would think with this happening the first time they would not want to continue getting pregnant unless of religious beliefs against birth control. Would using condoms be apart of that religious belief?

Absolutely. The contraceptive pill is free. You can get free condoms at sexual health clinics too.

But I don't think this situation with this couple is a normal relationship, it feels like an abusive situation to me.

 

[cuffem]

Absolutely. The contraceptive pill is free. I think you can get free condoms at sexual health clinics too.

But I don't think this situation with this couple is a normal relationship, it feels like an abusive situation to me.

That is fantastic that birth control pills are free in the UK. Wish it were so here in the US.

My thinking is wouldn't the male contributor not want the births also even if he is an abuser, so be more inclined to use at least condoms?
I am thinking religion and /or finances could have a play in this.

 

[steeltowngirl]

Definitely not underground in the sewer. That's not possible.
I feel that some poor girl/woman is being abused and she doesn't know where to get help due to cultural differences possibly.

Ugh. I had meant to type underground subway system. Perhaps called tube station in London.

I agree, this reeks of an abuse situation. A woman with mental challenges or as you note, cultural challenges.