Girl, 15, charged with attempting to murder her baby : AP

As a newborn boy found in a trash can struggled for life today, his 15-year-old mother was at the same hospital, charged with attempted murder.

The freshman at Bergenfield High School managed to hide her
pregnancy, and gave birth in the bathroom of her home Friday
night. She took the body, placed him in a gym bag and dumped it
in a trash can outside a deli near her house, police Sgt. Brian
Monaghan said.

Bergen County Assistant Prosecutor James Santulli said the mother will be prosecuted as a juvenile.

Her son was in critical condition Monday on life support at
Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, hospital officials.

Meanwhile, state lawmakers on Monday approved a measure that would examine why a five-year-old law providing safe haven to mothers who cannot care for their newborns has not been used more often. The law allows a parent to leave an unwanted baby at a police station or hospital without being subject to criminal charges.

Since 2000, 21 infants have been were turned over to police or hospital workers. However, 19 others _ including the Bergenfield baby _ were abandoned or killed, and six others were found dead, according to state statistics.

"This bill sets up a task force to take a look at who has been using it (the safe haven law), and who hasn't and how can we reach those people who haven't," said Sen. Diane Allen, who sponsored the bill. "We want young women, and in some cases older women, to take advantage of this more than they are."

The state appropriates $500,000 annually for outreach, which goes for advertising on television and radio as well as brochures and posters. Both New Jersey Right to Life and the Human Services Department support the formation of the task force.

Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey has indicated he will sign it before leaving office on Jan. 17.

News of the abandoned infant shocked residents of Bergenfield, which is still reeling from a natural gas explosion shortly before Christmas that leveled an apartment complex and killed three people.

"She had a choice, to give birth and dump the baby in a trash can," said Jeffrey Lower, a patron of the deli where the baby was found. "She knew what she was doing."

Another customer, Carol Baumuller, said she could not judge the mother.

"You don't know what that child is going through," she said. "She must have been so scared. She probably had no support system. It's a terrible thing to happen to a 15-year-old. She's a child herself."

I would say to Carol, whatever problems the mother had faced, was facing, or will face, none of it would have been helped by attempting to kill the baby as she is accused of doing. At 15, she should know the difference between right and wrong.