Nebraska 'safe haven' law for kids has unintended results

[JonLP24]

Source: USA Today

Between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday, three fathers walked into two hospitals in Omaha and abandoned their children. One left nine siblings, ages 1 to 17.

The men, unless proven to have abused the kids, won't face prosecution under a new Nebraska law that is unique in the nation. The law allows parents to leave a child at a licensed hospital without explaining why.

Other parents have also used the law to leave their children. Last week, a 13-year-old girl was left. The week before that, two boys ages 11 and 15. In all, fathers, mothers and caregivers in six families — some single parents — have bailed on 14 kids, including seven teens, since the law took effect in July.

"They were tired of their parenting role," says Todd Landry of Nebraska's Department of Health and Human Services. He says child behavioral problems, not family financial woes, were a factor in the earlier cases. He says little is known about the three new cases, which are under investigation.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-25-Left-kids_N.htm

[UpInArms]

1. omg

:cry:

my son is 14, I would die before I could "give" him away

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. maybe these folks felt they couldn't feed the kids. 9 kids are a lot to house, clothes, feed.

[LisaL]

13. Then why have so many in the first place?

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. Good question.

[bitchkitty]

20. It could be that once this family

was prosperous, and then fell on hard times. I wouldn't be so quick to judge. Some people have large families, me included. They're being hit hard, and you shouldn't judge them for not knowing we were going to get so thoroughly butt-fucked by this admin.

[Beregond2]

2. Man...if only there had been a law like this

when my nephew was a kid.

[DogPoundPup]

4. I put this story up this morning and the mods moved it,

But I'm glad to see it is getting a more sympathetic reaction this time from those making comments.

re: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3510788

[JonLP24]

5. I don't fully understand the moving policies

I see threads that imo qualify as LBN to be moved to GD and die very quickly. Sometimes a thread of mine gets moved and someone else posts an article that lives on.

[DogPoundPup]

6. I wish I could explain it, but I can't...

It's just a matter of opinion by the mods is all I can decipher. :shrug:

:hi:

[merwin]

10. It's up to the moderators to decide, and no moderator is exactly the same.

Normally, a consensus is reached on what to do with a particular thread. So a thread that is borderline LBN may get moved one time and not another.

Don't take it personally :)

[JonLP24]

12. I never did

It just confuses me sometimes. :)

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. I've never been able to post LBN thread that sticks. They are always moved.

I don't try anymore. Put 'em in Discuss instead.

[and-justice-for-all]

7. Why was this made law?

it is horrible.

[Jackilope]

8. I think the law was intended for young mothers/new babies...

... to prevent tragic things like girls hiding their pregnancies and then hurting/killing the babies after born. This gives them an out. No questions asked, if overwhelmed, this protects the baby.

[slackmaster]

19. Brought to you by pretty much the same people who want to ban abortion

:nuke:

[wickerwoman]

21. I'm pro-choice and I think this is a good law.

The alternative is overwhelmed parents hurting their kids or dumping them in unsafe areas. And I can see how a parent could get to a situation where they were unable to care for their kids better than the foster system could. It's not inconsistant with believing that people who are transparently not ready to have children should have the option to end the pregnancy.

[slackmaster]

22. I think it's basically a good law too

And I am pro-choice. But if you look at the legislative history in Nebraska, you will see that the sponsors of this law include abortion ban advocates.

Maybe this is an example of that middle or common ground that people talk about but rarely find.

[provis99]

9. I think this was not unanticipated; and I think its a good idea

Do we really want a father looking after a kid when the father doesn't want him, and is willing to drop him off at a hospital? The worst thing that could happen is to force the father to take back the kid they dropped off.

Its a good law.

[davidinalameda]

11. these kids are potentially better off in the system than with their parents

maybe they can get the care they need and deserve

[LisaL]

14. Right. Cause the system just got such a great record when it comes

to the success of foster children and all.

[davidinalameda]

15. better than abusive parents

[Nihil]

18. I wish that one of the criteria for being allowed to leave their children ...

... was sterilisation to ensure that they don't go out and
produce some more that they won't be able to manage ...
:grr:

I'm still happy that the state is prepared to care for the
children rather than let them be abandoned (or worse) in a
non-controlled environment but they should really act to
stop the situation getting worse.

[Blue_Tires]

26. +1

that was my idea as well...vasectomies and tubals all around...and drug/drink/gambling/mental health recovery programs..

and while i understand the value of a 'no questions asked' clause, it should be changed to ask that guy dropping off 9 kids a question or two...

[depakid]

23. One left nine siblings, ages 1 to 17?

:shrug:

[customerserviceguy]

24. Would you rather read the headline

"Father shoots nine children, then turns gun on self"?

I didn't think so. Having this in place gave him an alternative to doing something stupid and even more desperate than this was.

[undeterred]

25. I agree.

As long as its not "drop your children off, no questions asked". It can't be as easy as surrendering a pet. If the adult is facing financial or emotional stress there needs to be a way to work with them so that they are still responsible for the children when they get back on their feet.

[depakid]

27. Of course not, but you also don't expect to read things straight out of Dickens

in the first decade of the 21st Century.

[davsand]

28. I can't imagine giving up my kid--ever.

I understand why these laws exist--and I think they are a good idea, mostly. If it helps protect newborns and teens from horrible things it is well worth doing. Adoption happens all the time, and it is certainly a much better solution than infants being dumped to die by panic stricken teens.

What I simply can't get my head around in this all is the idea that anyone could just "give up" a child--like you were dropping off the recycle stuff at the collection center. I can't begin to fathom how those older kids feel about it, and I can't even get my head around how any parent could DO that. A baby being dropped off by a scared teen mom is one thing, but a teen or an entire family being dropped off leaves me horrified.

WHO are these people that could DO that???



Laura