Baby Abandoned At Restaurant Will Be Placed for Adoption

Adoption will be the road to a family for the newborn daughter of a young mother in urgent need of help in Jersey City. According to ABC 7 New York, a 14-year-old female walked into El Patron restaurant this week and handed a baby girl to a customer, Alease Scott, before leaving. The teen claimed that she had found the baby but was later confirmed as the mother. Scott and her boyfriend, Walter Cocca, noticed that the baby still had part of the umbilical cord attached. Then, they realized that the infant was in distress, struggling to breathe. Scott, who fortunately knows how to perform CPR, immediately called the police.

Scott administered an oxygen mask brought by first responders, and the baby’s breathing promptly improved. “All of a sudden we heard the most beautiful cry,” said Scott, “and the baby started moving, [and] she slightly opened up her eyes.”

In light of New Jersey’s Safe Haven law, the teenage mother is not being charged with a crime at this time. The Safe Haven law “allows parents and guardians to drop newborns off at hospitals, police stations or fire stations,” notes ABC 7 New York.

Scott was glad she could help the mother, who she said “just was desperate and didn't know what to do, she was so young.” The incident spotlights the benefits of Safe Haven laws as well as the value of adoption in such situations.