Reader Cindy Huelat dropped me a note last night inquiring about what options were available to the young woman who left her newborn in a basket on the corner of Maryland Avenue and South Shore Drive.

To answer her question, there are several options, some of which were detailed in a story in this morning's Erie Times-News.

Cindy raises some good points in her e-mail -- most notably that women often don't know their options after they have a baby.

She writes of the atmosphere in Colorado, where she lives.

"It is legal for a mother to leave her infant, within a certain number of days since its birth (but I don't recall how many) at a safe place like a fire station or hospital, and she is free from any legal recrimination," Huelat writes. "I can't think but that hunting this woman down and pressing charges will only convince other girls that the only recourse they have is to dump the baby somewhere and hope no one finds it."

This is a touchy issue. I'd love to get the thoughts of others, as well.