The Albuquerque Police Department concludes its on-scene investigation into the death of a baby in Northwest Albuquerque last month. The baby was found wrapped in a blanket inside a dumpster, police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said.
The Albuquerque Police Department concludes its on-scene investigation into the death of a baby in Northwest Albuquerque last month. The baby was found wrapped in a blanket inside a dumpster, police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said.
A newborn baby was found dead in the dumpster 15 feet from our New Mexico Appleseed office, buried in a casket of trash — the body exhumed by a homeless person searching for food. The baby’s mother was likely wandering the city, bleeding and in pain after giving birth in unimaginable conditions. Maybe her milk was coming in with the pain of a thousand needles — a feeling postpartum moms know too well. Maybe she was sitting lost on a curb, in a park or under a bridge. We don’t know if she was using substances at the time, but odds are that is the case. In today’s Albuquerque, that’s not hard to picture. Even if they’re lucky enough to reach a hospital, they're at risk of being discharged to the street.
“Put this mom in jail. That’s where she belongs,” might’ve been your first thought. I don’t blame you. It’s horrifying and hard to understand. But blame isn’t an actionable solution. Moral outrage is tempting but irrelevant. It won’t stop the endless conveyor belt of broken children, addicted moms, homelessness, crime, poverty and trauma.
Jennifer Ramo is the founder and Executive Director of the nonpartisan nonprofit anti-poverty organization New Mexico Appleseed. For more information, visit .
