Whoever abandoned a newborn girl at Sandy Beach late Sunday night could have avoided prosecution by turning the baby over to the proper authorities, state officials said.
Instead, whoever is responsible could now land in jail.
The Honolulu Police Department has opened cases of abandonment and endangerment of a minor in connection with the incident. Each is a felony carrying a maximum penalty of one year in jail.
The infant, who is unidentified, is healthy and uninjured, state Human Services Director Patricia McManaman said Monday.
She weighs more than 8 pounds and is being fed formula while under care at the Queen’s Medical Center.
"She might have had a minor increase in temperature when she was first brought in, but the temperature has since receded," she said. The baby remains in an incubator, or "warmer," which is not unusual for newborns, McManaman said.
"She’s doing quite well, and that’s what we think we need to focus on," McManaman said, adding that the baby appears to have been born after a 37-week gestation period, which is close to full term, 40 weeks.
Indications are that "the child was abandoned immediately after birth," McManaman said.
The baby was found after a 21-year-old woman heard several people screaming at the beach between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, HPD said. The woman, who was in a parked car at the beach, then heard a baby’s cry and saw the infant on the sand, HPD said. She took the child to the Queen’s Medical Center, HPD said.
The baby was apparently not clothed when found, McManaman said.
If no relatives come forward to identify and claim her, "we will be taking the child into foster custody," McManaman said. A petition will likely be heard in state Family Court on Thursday.
Family Court would have until Monday to hold a hearing.
"We are inclined at this juncture, if no family is identified, to ask the Family Court to allow us to release a photo of the child, and if they do, we would be happy to then turn it over to the media in hopes that it might help identify the identity of this child," she said.
HPD said infant abandonment cases are rare on Oahu.
The woman who found the child and took her to Queen’s is not a suspect, police said.
A 2007 "safe haven" law allows immunity from prosecution for dropping an "unwanted" baby at a hospital, fire station, police station or with emergency personnel if the baby is unharmed and less than 72 hours old. Anyone surrendering a baby in such a manner is not required to provide information.
No one has taken advantage of the law since it went into effect, McManaman said.
McManaman said it’s possible that in the case of the newborn girl at Sandy’s, the mother or other family members were not aware of the law.
"There are alternatives, and the state of Hawaii is here to support women in these kinds of situations," she said.
State Rep. John Mizuno (D, Kamehameha Heights-Kalihi Valley), who sponsored the 2007 bill, said he’s troubled that the girl’s mother or parents did not give the child to the authorities.
"Whoever it is that abandoned that baby, they are now liable for criminal charges — abandonment, neglect," Mizuno said. "It didn’t need to come down to this."
Mizuno said the state needs to better educate people about the law, and he said he will push for funding to install signs at hospitals, police stations and fire stations declaring them "baby safe havens."
"Our people need to know they have a safe option," he said.
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Star-Advertiser reporter Gregg K. Kakesako also contributed to this report.
