The story of a two-year-old child that was abandoned by her mother is quite a disturbing one.

As reported in Monday's Gleaner, the child was found in an abandoned building with her hands tied, and had apparently been there for about four days. If her cries had not been heard by a passer-by who decided, against her first instinct, to go looking, there is no doubt that the child would have died.

It is a shame that a mother could do this to an innocent child when there are so many women in this country and in the world that want children but cannot bear them. Many women would give almost anything for the chance to be a mother, while the accused woman in this instance and many others see motherhood as a burden and a responsibility that they would free themselves of by any means necessary.

With so many options available to women who do not think they can care for children, it is sad that this story had to turn out the way it did. We are thankful, however, that the child was found before further damage was done to her and before she lost her life.

Though it might be easy to persecute this mother, we are mindful that there might be psychological and emotional factors at play as well. These of course, need to be addressed or should be addressed before any criminal action is taken.

What we need to do first is make women aware of the support groups and institutions that exist, so that abandoning a child does not seem like the only available option.