Dave Camp: “I too want to commend Representative Morrison from the State of Texas for her leadership on this issue. We have read…”

“I too want to commend Representative Morrison from the State of Texas for her leadership on this issue. We have read horrifying stories in the news about babies being abandoned at birth in public places. One child was found in a river, another in a garbage Dumpster. These are all sad, heartbreaking stories. But States and communities have been responding to this crisis both with new laws and new programs to ensure that these babies have a chance at life; programs that allow parents, with no questions asked, to deliver their children, their babies, to a hospital instead of hiding the baby away or leaving the child to die. What we lack is accurate data on how many babies are abandoned in public places. We have a pretty good handle on how many babies are left in hospitals. Almost 31,000 are abandoned in hospitals annually. But we can only guess at how many babies are abandoned in alleys or bathrooms or other public places. We think it is around 105, but we just do not know. This legislation today calls on government at every level to collect and publicize statistics in this area so we can respond with the right solution. One solution, a permanent and loving solution, is adoption.”