Nebraska’s “safe haven” law was intended to protect newborns and babies whose mother’s could not take care of them. The law was to allow parents to anonymously leave infants in the care of any hospital employee without being prosecuted. The problem with this law is that when it was passed, the legistature did not specify an age limit. On Tueday a 14 year old girl from Iowa was left at Creighton University Medical Center. On September 24 a man dropped off his nine children at an Omaha hospital because he felt he could not take care of them after his wife passed away. It’s more than obvious that this law needs to be amended and right away. I personally think that these no good parents should have to pay child support for their children that they abandoned. They are trying to manipulate the law to suit themselves, and I don’t believe they should get away with it. All 50 states in this country have safe haven laws. Nebraska’s is the only one that lacks the age limit. A hearing will be held in November to discuss a change in the law. That’s really not soon enough, in my opinion. How many more children are going to be abandoned in Nebraska by then? It’s pathetic. How can these people even look at themselves in the mirror, anyway? I understand if your kids have behavior problems and you need help, but to simply abandon your child because you don’t know how to handle him or her is really going to far.
Wow, I have never heard of that law before, but goodness, it certainly does need to be reconsidered… I mean, it’s giving people rights to give up on their children a tad too easily.
It’s one thing when you have a newborn baby.. but giving away your 15 year old is pathetic, you know?
While I certainly agree that these people shouldn’t be able to look at themselves in the mirror, we don’t know what these kids are going through at home, either. I’d rather a parent that not care about their kid give them up and give them the possibility of finding a new family than to KNOW that kid will be stuck with a parent that could be abusing them.
I do think it’s sad though that people are abandoning their children after they’ve been with them for a decade and a half.
I am a parent myself, and I also remember very vividly what it was like being a child. If parents are having that much trouble with their kids, they should probably take a step back and look at themselves and where they went wrong as parents, also. I’m not saying parents are always to blame, most of the time there’s a reason the children turn out the way they do and that reason has alot to do with how they were brought up. I would suggest counseling for both the parents and children, and if the child is still so “bad” that the parent feels no other alternative than to just give the child away, there are certain legal steps that can be taken.
As for the possibility of finding a new family, that’s more than likely not going to happen after the child reaches a certain age. They will be put into foster care, yes, but it’s definitely not the same thing. Alot of foster families are just in it for the state money, also, and do a horrible job at taking care of the children. I know this first hand as I had a cousin who ended up in foster care when I was a child. It was horrible.
And just imagine being that child, no matter what kind of behavior problems you may or may not have.. to have your parents just give up on you and toss you out like you’re garbage. I think after the age of about 2 or 3, the emotional scarring that the child would face is definitely something to be considered. Can you imagine how it would feel to have your parents just say “I don’t want you anymore”? I was kicked out of my mother’s home at the ripe old age of 13, and even though I was kind of glad to go because of the problems we had at home, it still hurts me nearly 20 years later because my mother didn’t give a shit enough to “deal with me”. Don’t get me wrong, I love my mom now.. but back then I hated her guts. And to be perfectly honest, most of my behavior problems stemmed from lack of attention at home. Once I moved in with my aunt, and she got me into counseling and actually listened to me, I felt that someone actually cared about me. To this day she says she can’t understand why my mom said I was a “bad” kid.
Sorry for this extremely huge reply, it’s just that this hits home for me, and I personally think these parents that are tossing their kids out like this should end up in prison. There are other alternatives. You don’t just give up on your kid or on being a parent after having done so for so long.
WOW. That’s just crazy. I mean really, dropping off a baby is understandable, but a 14 year old? That’s just people being irresponsible and retarded.
Irresponsible and retarded is an understatement. It really pisses me off, and I think it’s disgusting. What a pathetic excuse for human beings these people are.