Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO – The phones were ringing off the hook Thursday at a Chicago-area hospital and two Illinois agencies with calls from people offering to help Baby Joseph and Baby Mary, the twin newborns found abandoned early Wednesday morning at a Chicago church.

“They’re our own little celebrities,” said Molly Gaus, a spokeswoman with West Suburban Medical Center, where the infants remained in good condition Thursday night. “We’ve received at least 40 phone calls and e-mails today from people interested in adopting them or wanting to donate money, toys and blankets.”

Joseph and Mary, named by the staff at West Suburban, were found about 8:15 a.m. Wednesday when a custodian at North Austin Lutheran Church spotted a baby carrier containing them inside the church’s vestibule.

Twenty-four hours later, phone calls from as far away as California also started pouring in to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services office in Chicago as people expressed interest in adopting the twins, spokeswoman Kimberly Broome said.

“We’re not keeping a running tally, but we’ve had numerous calls,” Broome said on Thursday afternoon.

DCFS officials told the callers that prospective adoptive parents must first become a licensed foster parent – a process that on average takes 3 to 6 months – and then directed those still interested to the Adoption Information Center of Illinois.

About 20 people on Thursday called the Adoption Information Center about the twins, spokeswoman DeAudrey Davis said. Half of them requested the paperwork needed to become a licensed foster parent, she said.

Joseph and Mary will remain at the hospital as DCFS officials search for family members, Davis said. If none are found, the twins will then be placed in a foster home or put up for adoption, she said.

Officials reported no new developments in the search for the twins’ parents, who could face criminal charges after violating Illinois’ “safe haven” law. But the parents’ intent would also be taken into consideration, police spokesman Pat Camden said.

“They weren’t left in an alley. They were left inside a church,” he said. “There are a whole lot of issues that come into play.”

Under the law, parents can leave their unharmed baby, 3 days old or younger, at a hospital, emergency medical facility, staffed fire station or police station in Illinois and walk away with no questions asked, DCFS officials said.

Churches are not designated safe havens, and that fact has sparked debate among some people in Chicago on Thursday.

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“I know there are rules and laws about where children can be dropped off, but I hope they don’t find anything (criminal) against the parents,” said the Rev. Thetis Cromie, of North Austin Lutheran.

Dawn Geras, president of the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation of Illinois, said the safe haven law needs to be enforced, no matter the circumstances.

“If we say it’s OK this time, then what about the next time that babies are abandoned at a church where they don’t get found?” Geras said. “We need to emphasize that infants can be legally left at a designated safe haven and that parents can remain anonymous.”

Cromie argued that some parents unwilling or unable to keep an infant may feel more comfortable approaching a church rather than a fire or police station to drop them off.

“My suspicion would be that some people don’t see the Fire Department and Police Department as neutral grounds,” Cromie said.

Geras, however, doesn’t believe that fear is the reason some parents abandon babies in locations not designated as safe havens. Rather, it’s ignorance.

“It’s hard to know, but on the basis of what I’ve been able to ask people, 90-plus percent just don’t know about the safe haven law,” Geras said. “… Everyone needs to continue to talk about this. I encourage people to step forward and make sure people know about the law.”

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