Bronx woman arrested after infant rescued from garbage bag

A woman in the Bronx, New York, has been arrested after police say she gave birth and then threw her newborn, with his umbilical cord still attached, in a garbage bag in front of an apartment building. The infant was found and rescued, and is reportedly recovering in a local hospital.

Key Takeaways:

• An infant was rescued from a garbage bag in front of a Bronx apartment building on Wednesday.

• His mother was arrested several hours later.

• New York has a safe haven law that allows a parent to safely and anonymously surrender an infant they feel unable to care for.

The Details:

A 71-year-old woman discovered the infant in a trash bag on East 223rd Street near White Plains Road in Olinville, Bronx, around 12:10 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. She called police, who rescued the little boy and rushed him to a local hospital. A surveillance video from the scene shows an officer cradling the infant, getting into a cruiser to transport him to the hospital.

Authorities later arrested the mother of the child, 28-year-old Claudette Tinnin. She has been charged with reckless endangerment, acting in a manner injurious to a child and abandonment of a child. According to the New York Post, it was not clear when Tinnin gave birth to the baby; she was hospitalized and is awaiting arraignment.

Why It Matters:

Like every state, New York has a safe haven law meant to stop infant abandonments like this one from happening.

The Abandoned Infant Protection Act is in place to offer an option to parents who feel unable to care for their newborns. Per the law:

A parent is not guilty of a crime if the infant is left with an appropriate person or in a suitable location and the parent promptly notifies an appropriate person of the infant’s location. A hospital, staffed police or fire station are examples of safe and suitable choices.

A person leaving an infant under this law is not required to give his or her name.

The Bottom Line:

Thankfully, the infant abandoned in this case was found and rescued. Despite safe haven laws in every state, many infants are not so fortunate. Parents need to know that there are options available to them — and abandoning a child is never the answer.