According to the BBC , she is known as the woman who adopts dead babies. That may sound strange, but she happens to be one of the most compassionate people I’ve heard of.

In 2003, they found a dead newborn baby in a rubbish heap in Puerto Montt. Gallardo felt horrible about this as it might as easily have been her baby had she been poor or alone.

“If you get a baby that is alive you clothe it and feed it and put it in a cot. If your baby arrives dead you have to get a coffin and give it a decent burial,” she says.

Bernarda had to adopt the baby, whom she named Aurora, before giving it a burial to get around the strict Chilean laws governing abortion. Since then, she has adopted and buried several other abandoned dead babies.

Gallardo was raped at 16 and consequently had a baby. She claims that without the support of her friends, she might also have abandoned her baby.

Here’s the grave where 3 of her adopted babies are buried.

It’s impossible not to appreciate Gallardo’s love and respect for life and decency. She wants the law to change so unwanted babies can be given up for adoption easily rather than be left to die.