On Sunday, February 21, a newborn was found dead inside an east Portland apartment complex in Oregon. According to OregonLive, the mother of the baby was homeless. David Hernandez reported that he had taken the woman in to his home to live with him and his boyfriend. The man claimed to have previously been homeless himself and wanted to help the pregnant woman.

Hernandez claims that he woke up early Sunday morning to have breakfast and discovered blood all over the hands and feet of the woman. The woman was immediately taken to the hospital in an ambulance. When the woman was gone, one of the two men was reported to have found a lifeless baby.

This article describes an example of a desperate woman who was forced to make the decision she made. For homeless mothers, this particular situation is one route that is taken by woman who fail to meet the social expectations of mothers. When a mother fails to provide for herself, it is unlikely that she will be able to provide for a child. Women’s ability to bear children complicates their situation when homeless. In society, every decision made by a homeless mother is frowned upon. Deciding to have an abortion can bring negative attitudes toward a person, while it can also relieve them of another life they are responsible of. Deciding to keep the child could mean not being to provide the appropriate support in rough conditions. Adopting may cause the child to face certain difficulties coping with the idea of lacking parents. A foster home could mean result in further abuse by other children or the foster parents.

For a homeless mothers, pregnancy means having to make difficult decisions. In this case, it is difficult to say what the mother’s intentions were. However, every situation is different and calls for difficult decisions due to certain circumstances that only the individual making them can rationalize.

Oregonian/OregonLive, Brad Schmidt | The. “Newborn Death: Witness Says Homeless Woman Was Pregnant.” OregonLive. N.p., 21 Feb. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.

<http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/02 newborn_death_witness_says_hom.html>.