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the baby lands in the pile of stillborn fetuses and still breathing, still
sofily crying mistakes. I guess that's not funny at all. Now I feel bad.

The term "dumpster baby" has somehow become easy to man-
age. I've also heard it called "post-term abortion." That's harder. Though
it sounds a little clinical, a little sterile, I think it captures the situation
better. The focus is less on the. baby and more on what the mother does.
Though she might be immature, definitely reckless and probably stupid,
and though she might be a criminal, we know it hurts her more than
anyone else. An infant has no aspirations, no compassion, no personal-
ity, no emotions, only the hopes of those closest to it.

Studies have shown that mothers are more likely than fathers
to kill their infant children, but as a child gets older, he or she is statisti-
cally more likely to get killed by the father. But studies don't consider
that every child, in a sense, kills its parents just by being born. Maybe
it just takes longer for dads to realize it. It's not that I hate kids; I don't.
Maybe one day I, too, will experience the joy of trading my life for the
life of my son or daughter.

They say that having a child is life affirming.

In 2010, a Calgary man parked his car at his apartment com-
plex. As he was getting out, a passerby called over that she thought she
heard a baby in the dumpster. He dove in and found it inside a garbage
bag. It was a boy, born earlier that day. He kept it warm in his shirt and
the passerby called 911. The baby survived. You know how sometimes
people who rescue kids will adopt the kids? Well, the person who threw
out the baby was the man's girlfriend. It was his son. He didn't know she
was pregnant. She didn't either, until, suddenly, a baby. He only came
home when he did because she hadn't been feeling well and he wanted
to check up on her.

There's an image of a California police blotter going around
on the web. It reads:

FRIDAY
Wal-Mart: Police receive a report of a
newborn infant found in a trash can. Upon
Investigation, officers discover it was only
a burrito.

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