A newborn was left on a subway platform Monday. Days later a woman sought for questioning about the baby girl found abandoned was arrested.

The 30-year-old woman is believed to be the mother of the newborn left on the southbound platform of the No. 1 train Monday, two law enforcement sources said. She has since been charged with child abandonment and endangering the welfare of a child, police said.

The baby was wrapped in a blanket and still had her umbilical cord attached, according to investigators. She was evaluated at a hospital and is expected to be OK.

It is unclear why the baby was abandoned, but the investigation is ongoing.

While the mom was arrested for abandoning her child in a dangerous location, the state provides a safer alternative, without criminal prosecution, for parents who abandon their babies at certain “suitable locations” with the infant’s safety top of mind.

ABANDONED INFANT PROTECTION ACT

The state of New York has a “safe haven” law, or the Abandoned Infant Protection Act, where a parent can abandon “a newborn baby up to 30 days of age anonymously and without fear of prosecution — if the baby is abandoned in a safe manner.”

This law was enacted as a means of ensuring as much as possible that a baby who is relinquished is as safe and gets the care it needs as soon as possible.

If a parent chooses to abandon their baby at a safe haven location, the parent is not guilty of a crime, according to the law. They are also not guilty of a crime if the baby is left with an appropriate person.

Safe haven locations include:

hospitals

staffed police stations

staffed fire stations

However, the state recommends contacting your local district attorney for other locations deemed as “suitable.”

According to the law, a person abandoning a baby following the law’s guidelines is not required to give his or her name. This is done with the intention of encouraging parents who abandon their infants to do so in a safe manner to lessen any risks to the baby.

HISTORY OF THE ‘SAFE HAVEN’ LAW

New York’s Abandoned Infant Protection Act was enacted in July 2000 to help babies.

The law was subsequently amended in Augusto 2010 to provide parents who abandon their baby in a safe way to not be held criminally liable.

The 2010 amendment also changed the time frame in which a parent could relinquish their baby under the law from the first five days of the baby’s life to the first 30 days.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT TO BABIES ABANDONED UNDER THE LAW

If someone abandons a baby under the safe haven law, and they express interest in placing the baby for
adoption, they will be put in touch with the local county department of social services or with a private (authorized voluntary) adoption agency.

WHAT IF A BABY IS OLDER THAN 30 DAYS

“Parents who are unable or unwilling to care for a child over 30 days old may contact an Administration for Children’s Services Field Office to discuss the option of voluntarily transferring custody of the child or giving up parental rights,” according to to the city.

CONTACT INFORMATION

For more information, call the Abandoned Infant Helpline at 1-866-505-SAFE.