Nebraska safe haven law reveals societal hypocrisy
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Officials want to revise the law to limit 'safe haven' to abandoned newborns one and younger, in line with other states. What is wrong with people?
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Last week news outlets around the country reported on ‘deadbeat’ parents who seemingly took advantage of a new safe haven law in Nebraska that allows parents to leave a child, regardless of age, at a licensed hospital without explaining why.
The media and so-called child protection reaction has been painful, clearly siding with Nebraska officials that want to change the law to limit care to abandoned newborns one and younger, in line with other states.
What is wrong with people?
It’s been reported that 16 children, half of them teens, have been dropped off at Nebraska hospitals by a parent since the law took effect in July. If a parent, such as the father of nine whose wife died from cancer last year, can't manage to take care of his children, the youngest age one, and has no place else to go, isn't the new law meeting its purpose to care for unwanted children and get them out of an unhealthy situation?
"This was never the intent of the bill," co-author Republican state Sen. Arnie Stuthman told USA Today, adding that the bill was intended to protect newborns but in order to be passed it was revised to include all children. Stuthman said the new law is “a mess” and needs to be fixed.
One suspects that these "unintended results" are adding to the strain on diminishing state resources but it also reveals a hidden problem: children -- from babies to teens -- are living in situations where their parents can't or are incapable of caring for them properly.
What kind of society so eagerly wants to put these children back behind the curtain and ignore the issue? Yes, some of the parents may be selfish or lazy or addicts. Or they might be mentally or physically ill, or plagued by mortgage foreclosures, staggering health bills, or job lay-offs.
The primary focus should be on helping the children whose parents don’t want them or can’t care for them, not on “fixing” the system to prevent parents from dumping their kids.
The safe haven law performed beyond expectations. It reveals a need for our society to provide more resources for children whose parents would abandon them for whatever reason.
Shame on the legislators, public health officials and the wider media for wanting to sweep under the rug this truth that emerged from Nebraska's new law.
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No, I think that this is just breeding a whole new level of irresponsible parents.
We indeed hope for the best for the children, but the adults require a good swift kick.
If the government chosees to help Wall street Investers that risked and lost, (for equality principle) they should probably help the parents financially to keep their children.
But here it is not even about that: the parent is left to lose his investment (children), and the law only tries to save the children (and John complains even for this!!!).
Obviously, a perfect law (equal to the one that saves Wall Street) should at least finance the father to get a nanny to babysit the children when he works.
Or probably we should have mandatory insurances for families (just as for houses), to pay nannies when a parent dies.
But, if this is not the task of the government, than what do you think to be the task of the government? Taking tax-payer money to travel to conferences?
I agree all at risk kids deserve help regardless of age. However that help already exists. It's called the foster care system. The widower father of nine does need help however it should be in a different form that seeks to keep the family together.
And granted, there is foster care. But foster care isn't a phone call away. There isn't a drop-off for foster care. Often courts, after numerous problems, assign children to foster care. But what about in emergency situations? There have been numerous instances where mentally ill parents have murdered their children. I suppose they could just call 911 but they aren't really in their right minds at that point, are they?
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