Recently in Gretna, a woman gave birth and left her baby in a port-a-potty. The child unfortunately didn’t survive and the woman is being charged with second degree murder and will likely be incarcerated. This followed another tragically similar story in Livingston Parish in November.

These cases are especially heartbreaking because Louisiana law is set up to help. There could have been a positive outcome for both the mother and her child. However, too few are aware of this fact. The more people who know about Safe Haven laws and are willing to share this information, the greater chance lives can be saved!

The real problem is not the absence of help, it is awareness. How do we make sure this information reaches the people who need it most?

We believe promotion in schools is the first step, and that is why we are partnering with Rep. Dickerson to pass the Safe Haven Awareness Act! It requires that flyers about the Safe Haven law are put on the back of every restroom stall in public schools, providing the critical information in a private place.

In response to this tragedy many people made PSAs on social media to spread awareness about Louisiana’s Safe Haven law, however some took to the comments section to declare abortion could have prevented the tragedy.

So let’s talk about it, could abortion have prevented this situation?

Abortion isn’t the same type of decision as other serious life choices. Decisions like staying and rebuilding after a hurricane, ending a relationship, or trying for another child after a miscarriage are painful and complex, but they do not involve ending a human life.

Abortion is more comparable to the choices such as suicide or tragic cases of infanticide, where a human life is deliberately ended. In these situations, a life is disregarded and preventably extinguished. These are not real solutions to suffering.

What separates abortion from other violent actions is that the loss is often hidden. Shrouded in medical terminology and recommended by trusted medical professionals, often women may not fully understand what they are consenting to. At a deeply vulnerable moment, they are told this is normal and even an easy way out.

The result is a complicated form of grief. A child dies and their mother is left to mourn while also carrying the weight of having participated in that loss. At the same time, people often do not openly acknowledge or validate that grief, leaving many women to process it alone.

So no, abortion does not prevent tragedy for the mother or child. It only leaves its victims to suffer alone.