CHICAGO (CBS) – A newborn baby was found dead in a duffel bag early Saturday morning outside a Near North Side fire station, police say.
A police officer told CBS 2’s Jackie Kostek that around 5 a.m. a firefighter came out and discovered the newborn. The officer said there was another officer and three firefighters inside the barracks at the time of the discovery, and although it was a designated place of refuge, she said the fire station had not been contacted or alerted when the baby was left.
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The medical examiner and area three detectives are investigating. A spokesperson for the medical examiner’s office said an autopsy would be performed on Sunday.
“This is a tragedy that shouldn’t have happened,” said Dawn Geras of the local nonprofit Save Abandoned Babies. “And it was so close.”
Save Abandoned Babies helped advocate for the passage of the Abandoned Newborn Infant Act in Illinois over 20 years ago.
“It allows the parent to turn a baby over to staff at a hospital, police or fire station,” she said. “The reason they’re putting the baby back is so maybe the baby doesn’t freeze to death and not be found.”
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The law allows families to abandon infants anonymously and with legal protection from prosecution. But when the return to the staff is not done, it constitutes an illegal abandonment.
Since the law was passed in 2001, more than 145 babies have been brought to safe places. More than 85 babies were illegally abandoned and more than half of them did not survive.
Geras wants people to understand that help is there.
“This baby will be placed in a loving adoptive home forever and for the parent who believes and trusts the law, they can know that they have taken safe and responsible steps to safeguard the health and life of their baby,” she said.
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An officer said they hoped the surveillance cameras would help the investigation, which is ongoing.
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