A story of a hero, in Houston, Texas.

[pnwmom]

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Baby-found-alive-in-apartment-trash-in-SE-Houston-5265991.php

The whimper coming from the dumpster outside building 25 caught Carlos Michel's ear Tuesday morning. It sounded like an animal dying, maybe a kitten, but he couldn't tell for sure.

As the sounds grew louder, the maintenance worker felt certain that whatever was making the noises was struggling.

Seconds later, Michel, 51, reached into the blue dumpster and, hunched over, grabbed a white trash bag. He placed the bag on the ground, ripping it open to find the source - a newborn boy, stuffed among trash and discarded school work. His tiny face and hands were purple, his umbilical cord still attached, his body cold. His soft cries were the only indication he was still alive.

"I almost had a heart attack," Michel said.

SNIP

[raven mad]

1. Savers are always there when needed.

To a lot of folks, it matters what they save.

To me? It matters THAT they save.

[pnwmom]

2. I'm not sure about that. Thank goodness this man had sharp enough ears,

and a good enough heart, because this baby's life depended on him.

They need to do more to let girls know where it is safe and legal to abandon a baby.

[Schema Thing]

10. eh?

[raven mad]

3. I don't know about there - but here

any place, a fire station, cop shop, church? Safe.

Too much crap - if a child has a child, and nowhere to go? They've got nowhere to go. It's emphasized here that they can give birth and give up the baby. Unfortunately, we're a very right (red) state - and abortion isn't easy for a village woman/girl living 400 miles from even a doctor.

I hate this. We, as a state, and we are small in population, have the highest rates of child abuse/rape, rape in general (I don't mean that the way it's written, just the way the papers are published), domestic abuse, etc. in the nation. And we have the largest state, with the most resources, and lowest population in the nation.

So what does that say about abuse in general? Nothing. Boredom? Lack of access? It goes on and goes on and goes on. No one has done anything. Most rapists/child get 5 weeks in a local prison/jail - where they go back "home" and laugh.

[oneshooter]

13. Same in Texas, no questions asked.

[Cha]

4. How sad.. and yet inspiring

for the baby who was left to die in a trash bin; to cry out and for Carlos Michel to hear him. What a little survivor.

thank you, pnwmom

[mdbl]

5. Something's really wrong with a person who puts any living thing in a dumpster

The fact that it's a newborn child makes it incomprehensible.

[pnwmom]

6. Maybe the baby appeared not to be breathing at birth and the 16 year old panicked.

It would be incomprehensible otherwise.

[HappyMe]

7. I agree.

This is something I will never understand or excuse.

[Ilsa]

8. You don't have to excuse it.

You might try to understand the possible range of circumstances of how this happened.

A fifteen year old giving birth may not know the surrender laws in Texas: that a baby can be surrendered to a firehouse or hospital, no questions asked. That same fifteen year old may have exceptional circumstances at home. That same child giving birth may have thought it was dead. Lots of babies require some minor level of resuscitation after birth.

The bigger question is, if this baby was born of a teenager, how did we fail her? How did we fail any mother who would do such a thing?

[HappyMe]

9. I just cannot understand how anyone

could take a baby and toss it in the garbage. This falls into an animal abuse, child abuse category for me.

I don't know if we failed her at all. This girl's disregard for life is not all of society's problem. This kind of falls on her and her parents. Maybe she just didn't want the kid.

[Schema Thing]

11. "abuse" indicates an ongoing situation, not a single event.

[HappyMe]

12. Yes, that's true.

I should have been clearer. I was thinking along the lines of attempting to harm or kill those that cannot speak up or fight back.

[onethatcares]

15. maybe she didn't but

I'm leaning more towards her thinking that she covered it up so far and can't go any further.

I realize Texas has an educational system that thoroughly covers birth control, contraception and sex education.

Maybe she just missed those days

Jeez, I can't imagine how scared someone would have to be to do such a thing like putting a newborn in a dumpster.

But I do think it was fear and not callousness.

[HappyMe]

16. I don't know.

She had several months to prepare for this.

Maybe use that smart phone or computer to get some info.

[Ilsa]

18. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't.

You don't know if she understood that she was pregnant. Believe me, it happens, even to older women who have had babies. Episodes of scant bleeding, various degrees of denial, slight weight gain can cause some women to overlook the possibility that she's pregnant.

Denial is usually the domain of teens, though, from what I've read and heard from coworkers in Labor & Delivery.

[Ilsa]

17. IF it was a teenager, you simply cannot give her

credit for thinking like an adult. Teens' brains are not fully developed. Their reactions are more defensive and primal, as in fear-based. The majority of teenagers' Executive thinking processes are undeveloped. Their ability to plan and execute has limitations. She may not have had the guidance to respect all aspects of life if her environment is based on self-indulgence or self-serving behavior. Again, she may not have known the Texas laws for surrendering a baby or that it was even alive.

As for society, lets face it: many government policies are not respectful of life. Include in that how we wage war, execute without trial, deny life-saving healthcare to millions, deny food assistance, etc. We literally let the sick of body and mind die in our streets.

I don't think its right to judge someone a monster without knowing the facts.

[HappyMe]

20. I think 15 is old enough to know right from wrong.

[Jazzgirl]

21. But we don't know how old this person is.

They could be 12 or 13, who knows. Besides everybody processes things differently. And how do you know what stress this person was under? Don't judge since no one knows all the facts.

[Ilsa]

22. As a democrat, you might be interested

in this report as you pass summary judgment:

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/FB-Teen-Sex-Ed.html

No, teenagers don't always think responsibly like adults and don't always know what to do.

And what you think isn't agreed on by all child psychologists.

[Bandit]

14. I don't know about "Hero" but certainly a decent man that was in the right place at the

right time. To me a Hero is someone that puts something very valuable (life or property) at stake to benefit someone or something. Risking one's life to save another is a good example. The word Hero is tossed around so much it no longer has much meaning.

[pnwmom]

25. He went dumpster diving because he heard sounds. It could have been some other kind of animal.

Not everyone would have done that.

[Sunlei]

19. I think the mom and baby are together again. She thought the baby was not alive.

Not sure the exact story but was another young girl who gave birth alone at home.

[Ilsa]

23. And this is part of the problem.

Slut-shaming by Anyone, lack of education. Even the group that started the Safe Haven program for babies is dismayed by how society isn't promoting it anymore.

[LisaL]

24. You think wrong.

CPS has the child.