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The Miracle Baby

The Miracle Baby

FromShoe Leather


The Miracle Baby

FromShoe Leather

ratings:
Length:
47 minutes
Released:
May 20, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

On September 10, 2001, New York City newspapers reported that a newborn baby girl was found alone on a rock in Central Park — with her umbilical cord and placenta still attached. They said the baby was abandoned. And the mother could potentially face charges for leaving her child unsafe in one of the biggest parks in the world.

Around the same time, New York had just enacted the Abandoned Infant Protection Act, which allowed a mother to legally and safely relinquish her child to a fire department, police department, hospital or church. People around the city wondered: Why wouldn't the baby's mom take advantage of the law, known as the Safe Haven law, and save herself the trouble?

"The Miracle Baby" is about the journey of two curious reporters searching for the baby born just before 9/11, also looking to find out what societal conditions would lead a mom to feel like abandonment was the only choice. They encounter a world of inaccurate reporting, a man who helps deliver babies for a living, and a now 20-year-old woman who may or may not know her origin story.
Released:
May 20, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (33)

Shoe Leather is an investigative podcast that goes behind the scenes of forgotten stories that shaped New York City. Go along with the team as they knock on doors and track down the people who were at the center of the news. This season we are focusing on the events leading up to the Tompkins Square Park Police Riot that began the night of August 6, 1988. Prior to that night, people living in the neighborhood had complained that drug dealers, the unhoused and “punks” had taken over the park. In response, local government officials ordered a 1 a.m. curfew to be enforced by police. A rally to protest the curfew was held that night and violence ensued. Police officers openly beat protestors and bystanders. More than 100 complaints of police brutality were filed with the Civilian Complaint Review Board. Find out what really happened that night, and how it forever changed the Lower East Side.