New York is one of some 35 states to enact a “Baby Moses” law—the Abandoned Infant Protection Act—that encourages mothers to leave their infants who were not born in hospitals in safe places where they can receive necessary medical care and, ultimately, be placed with an adoptive family. Churches, hospitals, police stations and firehouses all constitute safe place, according to this law. Under the Baby Moses law, mothers who leave their babies in a designated safe haven receive immunity from prosecution for child neglect and abandonment.

It is reasonable to assume that the 13-year-old girl and her boyfriend did not know about the Baby Moses law, which is unfortunate— their case has been deemed a homicide. No word has yet been released about the 17-year-old. The saddest part of both these unspeakable tragedies for the young parents as well as the infants is: these babies did not have to die. New York’s Baby Moses law has been on the books since at least 2001. The Baby Moses law targets only the relatively small number of babies delivered outside of hospitals, who are without access to medical care or other necessities. In comparison to the 108 babies abandoned in public places across the United States in 1998, more than 31,000 babies were delivered and “abandoned” in hospitals; that is, left without any arrangements for care.

Why do so few people know about the Baby Moses law? It may be that parents and guardians fear a rise in promiscuity and consequent pregnancies if the statute and its provisions become known. We would doubt that this would be the case. Statistics show that out-of-wedlock pregnancies have been declining in recent years. We think it unlikely that making the provisions of the law known would tip the scales in the other direction, particularly since an unplanned pregnancy can happen to any woman of childbearing age, whatever the circumstances.

There are a number of choices available to pregnant women. Surrendering an infant through the Baby Moses law so it can be raised in a loving adoptive home is one of them. We would encourage medical professionals and anyone in whom a pregnant woman, no matter her age, might confide, to impart the provisions of the Baby Moses law. No infant should die needlessly.