People ex rel. Kropp v. Shepsky

In March of 1948, petitioner, eighteen years old and unmarried, gave birth to a daughter at Our Lady of Victory Home, a charitable institution in upstate New York. Since her parents barred their home to the infant, she was compelled to leave the baby at the institution. After a year, she brought the child to New York City — where she lived with her *467parents — and boarded it in various places while she worked or looked for work. There came a time in August, 1949, when the mother was out of work and nearly out of funds. In desperation, she entrusted her child to a lawyer, whose daughter she…