An easy way to stop a horror beyond words

It doesn’t matter how many times you see it in the news.

Whether it is splashed all over the front page or tucked away in

one of the inside pages, stories about parents murdering their own

newborn babies are ones that stab your mind and puncture your heart.

Among acts of evil, it’s right up there with fanatics flying

airplanes into skyscrapers -- at least in my opinion.

On Tuesday, not one but two dead babies were found. One newborn

girl washed ashore near Ocean Boulevard and 67th Place in Long Beach,

wrapped in a blanket and stuffed in a white, plastic shopping bag.

Another baby girl, also wrapped in a blanket, was found on the front

porch of a home in South Los Angeles.

Infanticide is not a modern phenomenon. Nor is it exclusive to the

United States. It’s been done for centuries in several cultures --

some more notorious than others. Some parts of China are known for

their gender preference -- boys over girls. Many baby girls have

reportedly been destroyed in the womb, and those that found their way

out were killed after birth.

The issue is quite close to my heart -- and has hit close to home.

Usilampatti, a tiny hamlet in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu,

has the worst reputation in the world for female infanticide. The

village is only a few hundred miles from my hometown, Madras,

considered one of the largest metropolitan areas in India.

The village folk have mercilessly killed baby girls for years.

How do they do it? I have seen documentaries on television that

showed new moms feeding dry, unhulled rice to their babies, whose

tiny windpipes were punctured. Some other mothers fed poison from

oleander shrubs to their young ones. A few others simply starved

their babies to death.

Why do they do it? Because the women feel it’s better for the girl

to die at birth than grow up and suffer a life of hardship and

sorrow. In that culture, parents are required to pay thousands of

rupees in dowry to marry off their daughters. They must also give

them gold jewelry during the wedding, irrespective of their financial

situation.

But how do they have the heart to actually kill their own flesh

and blood -- a little, live piece of heaven that’s wearing something

small enough to clothe the palm of your hand?

That question would always be answered with a silent shrug or

tears or a blank look followed by an “I don’t know.”

There is no excuse for killing another human being. But the sad

truth is that those women ran out of resources and options.

But California mothers have the law on their side.

Under the state’s Safe Haven Law, a pregnant woman who wishes to

abandon her baby may check into a hospital and deliver her baby. She

may then leave the baby at the hospital without prosecution. Women

may also bring babies less than 72 hours old and leave them at a

hospital or fire station.

Locally, Hoag Hospital accepts such newborns and even gives the

babies a complete medically exam and follow-up services. Local

nonprofit groups such as Project Cuddle and Parent Help USA also

offer counseling and support for distraught women and teen mothers

who are sometimes driven to abandon their babies.

A poor economy, desperate parents or freaked-out moms are just not

good enough reasons for innocent babies to die.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.