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The Sydney Morning Herald today reported another heartbreaking story of a young girl abandoning her baby son on the doorstep of a strangers home.

Rodel Acuna of Grifith reportedly found the three day old infant wrapped in blankets in a bag on his doorstep late Sunday night.

Rodel initially heard a knock on the door around 11.30pm and thinking it may be a friend popping by went to the window to check. While there was no one in sight he did see what he thought was a bag of fruit on his door step. On closer investigations he discovered a tiny baby along with a bottle and other supplies to care for him.

Inside the package was a note, assumed to be from the babies mother, which read “please take care of my baby, I’m 14-years-old and if my parents know they will kill me”.

The baby is now under the care of Family and Communities Services while the police appeal for the mother to come forward.

I can only imagine what would have been going through this poor young girls mind to be forced into a situation where she felt there was no other option but to abandon her baby anonymously with a stranger. It’s certainly not the first time it has happened in recent times and it’s unlikely to be the last.

In the last 12-18 months we have seen even more tragic occurrences of babies who were abandoned shortly after birth, some who tragically died before they were found.

In Australia baby abandonment is a criminal offence and there is no safe and legal way to anonymously surrender a baby. This leaves many women, especially those who are young and vulnerable, in incredibly difficult situations where they feel they have no choice but to leave their baby in a place they hope to be safe.

For several years now the idea of instigating baby safe drop areas where a baby can be left safely and anonymously has been raised by both members of parliament and the general public.

Would this help prevent these heartbreaking situations that so often end in tragedy?

What support should we be offering to these mothers?

Would you like to see safe drop boxes made available in Australia? Vote in our poll…