LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - A family discovered the green grocery bag on the hood of their car. Discovering a towel and teddy bear inside the bag, the family turned in the bag assuming a parishioner had left it on their car hood by mistake.

It was only after people heard a baby's cry coming from the bag they realized a child had been abandoned at their church. A seven-pound baby girl of Asian descent was found tucked underneath the teddy bear and towel.     

The baby girl, a few days old and in good health was transported to a local hospital for observation. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services will take custody of her once she is released.

Illinois' so-called "safe haven" law allows parents to give up their newborn infants, no questions asked if they feel they cannot provide for them. The law only gives parents immunity from prosecution if the baby is left at a hospital, fire station or police station.

"We don't know who the mother is and are hoping that the public will help us identify her," Sgt. John Nebl, public information officer for the Schaumburg Police Department says.

"First and foremost we want to make sure that the mother is healthy mentally and physically, and that she voluntarily relinquished child."

Hospital officials say that the baby was unlikely to have been born in a hospital due to the length of the unclamped umbilical cord. She appears to have been carried to full term.

"Each year in Illinois, there are disturbing reports of newborn babies found in dumpsters and other unsafe places," reads on Safe Haven brochure. "Under the Illinois Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act, unharmed infants 30 days old or younger can be left at a safe haven. No questions asked.

"You don't have to give your name. The police will not be called. Your baby will get medical care and be adopted."

In Illinois, safe havens for newborns are staffed fire
Stations, staffed police stations, hospitals and emergency care facilities.

Anybody with information about the baby or her mother is requested to call the Schaumburg Police Department Investigations Division at 847-882-3534.

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