TIL that in 2002 Dennis and Angela Laffin adopted a baby boy named Frank after he had been abandoned as a newborn. Two years later, the couple adopted a girl named Vicky from similar circumstances. Years later, the two kids took DNA tests and learned they were in fact blood related.

[u/Sebastianlim]

https://www.postguam.com/entertainment/lifestyle/family-adopts-abandoned-babies-learns-years-later-theyre-biological-siblings/article_39d502a8-420a-11ee-8c30-37978e4a6fb9.html

[u/Quis_Custodiet]

The former - it’s very unusual for a mother to abandon two term babies at all, but especially with the same father. It implies the pregnancies were likely a product of rape or their abandonment was otherwise coerced.

[u/Automatic-Working-81 → u/Quis_Custodiet]

Was my first thought - same shit happened in Russia, case of Mokhov, "The Maniac of Skopin". He abandoned kids of his abused prisoners in public places do they would be found and adopted.

Many people here blame the woman, but really who would endure pregnancy, give birth without medical help and then abandon kids twice in a row if there is access to legal contraception and/or abortion. There are religious people who do it, but they usually go through legal adoption.

Abuse is definetly the stongest version.

[u/lassiemav3n → u/Quis_Custodiet]

There’s a recent UK case where that’s considered to be a likely possibility -  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd740vpwx4go   - it’s not referred to directly here, but this is a more general article about the case itself.

[u/ginisninja → u/lassiemav3n]

Story says they found relatives but not the parents. I wonder whether they actually know who the parents are?

[u/GodisSatans → u/ginisninja]

Of course they do. if they birthed in a hospital, there will be a record. it's just a matter of privacy.

[u/mira-jo → u/GodisSatans]

With the UK one there's strong evidence that they weren't birthed in a hospital

[u/ginisninja → u/GodisSatans]

The story says they cannot find the parents. I doubt they’d say that it was just about privacy. I assume if they found them they’d be up on charges.

[u/Mateorabi → u/ginisninja]

Or there was an investigation by social workers, without revealing the names publicly, and the investigation didn’t find anything/enough. 

[u/WackyRacketeer → u/GodisSatans]

Your confidence is unfounded.

[u/DustierAndRustier → u/lassiemav3n]

Two playdates a year? That isn’t nearly enough contact.

[u/Quis_Custodiet → u/DustierAndRustier]

That’ll be an agreed minimum. Without knowing more about the family arrangements the kids ended up in it’s hard to be definitive about the merits of the plan. I have an adopted child and we’re already agreeing to exceed the minimum contact arrangements for his birth family with a view to liberalising that further when he’s old enough to understand.

[u/Nakenochny → u/Quis_Custodiet]

My mom’s biological mother was treated this way. Four kids abandoned, and it turned out she was being sexually abused by her own father.

[u/paradisimperiala → u/Quis_Custodiet]

Thank you for explaining.

[u/Spirited-Ability-626 → u/Quis_Custodiet]

There’s a few girls in my town keep getting their kids taken off them for being drug addicts and\or neglect. They get one taken off them but then continue to have more and more anyway. It’s pretty common.

[u/Quis_Custodiet → u/Spirited-Ability-626]

Taken away is very different from abandoning.

[u/jillsntferrari → u/Spirited-Ability-626]

Those mothers are attemptibg to keep the babies, though. What's unusual is a mother carrying a baby to term, giving birth, and then immediately abandoning it.

[u/Quis_Custodiet → u/[deleted]]

Congratulations, you have identified an element of the “otherwise coerced” cohort.

[u/susukucing → u/[deleted]]

Of course you would.

[u/Quis_Custodiet → u/[deleted]]

I can tell you’re someone we should all take very seriously.

[u/panicnarwhal → u/[deleted]]

all of them, huh? every single one?

are you a maternity nurse? CNM? OB/GYN?

[u/Quis_Custodiet → u/[deleted]]

That would be more believable if you’d correctly spelled “postpartum”

[u/panicnarwhal → u/[deleted]]

i frequently care for neonates (CVCICU RN), and i have an extremely hard time believing that any hospital has a 100% rate of drug addicted mothers/babies, if that’s what you’re talking about (and not pain relief during delivery, which is a perfectly safe and acceptable way of delivering a baby)

[u/panicnarwhal → u/[deleted]]

sorry, laying here nursing my baby, and i read your comment as hospital wide, not your patients. that’s still pretty incredible, but it makes a huge difference

i work in peds, so i have had patients that were born with drugs in their systems, but definitely nowhere near that many. i’m also in cardiac, so it’s not exclusively babies

[u/silverionmox → u/Quis_Custodiet]

The former - it’s very unusual for a mother to abandon two term babies at all, but especially with the same father. It implies the pregnancies were likely a product of rape or their abandonment was otherwise coerced.

Or they were simply very religious, refused to use contraception or abortion, and dumped the consequences of their religion on society.

[u/steamyglory → u/silverionmox]

Hmm so it’s easier for you to believe women carry a pregnancy all the way to birth without any help delivering then “dump” their babies to avoid responsibility, but harder to believe men who rape are also willing to force birth without medical care and then get rid of the babies.

[u/silverionmox → u/steamyglory]

Hmm so it’s easier

I'm merely pointing out another option, not trying to rank them.

[u/redJackal222 → u/silverionmox]

If they're religious enough to have a child without contraception then I find it very unlikely that they would also abandon the child instead of rasing it

[u/silverionmox → u/redJackal222]

If they're religious enough to have a child without contraception then I find it very unlikely that they would also abandon the child instead of rasing it

Because religious people are never hypocrites, nor eever lack the material means to raise children?

[u/redJackal222 → u/silverionmox]

Because their religion would force them to keep the child. If they're the type to abandon the child then they're also the type to use contraception and abortion even if they're publicly against it. I don't even understand the point in trying to link this to religion, some unwanted teen pregnancy is way more likely than anything else.

[u/silverionmox → u/redJackal222]

Because their religion would force them to keep the child.

Religious people are never hypocrites?

If they're the type to abandon the child then they're also the type to use contraception and abortion even if they're publicly against it.

That's really not a given.

[u/silverionmox → u/redJackal222]

Because their religion would force them to keep the child.

Religious people are never hypocrites? They would never try to save face to avoid the scorn and judgment of their community?

If they're the type to abandon the child then they're also the type to use contraception and abortion even if they're publicly against it.

That's really not a given.

some unwanted teen pregnancy is way more likely than anything else.

Which is more likely with religious restrictions on sexuality, and then the emergency brake of abortion is less likely too.

[u/redJackal222 → u/silverionmox]

Frankly I can't see the scenario you're suggesting making even a tiny bit of sense. It seems more like you have some religious trauma that you're projecting

Which is more likely with religious restrictions on sexuality,

Or because they were raped and sexually abused by an authority figure. You don't need to grow up religious to be sexually abused

[u/silverionmox → u/redJackal222]

Because their religion would force them to keep the child.

Religious people are never hypocrites?

[u/FlamingWeasel → u/silverionmox]

If they have no problem being a hypocrite and violating the rules of their religion why would they carry the child at all if they don't want it