Beowulf
11-15-2008, 08:04 PM
Nebraska Rethinks Safe Haven Law (http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/08/nebraska.safe.haven/index.html)
(CNN) -- Frustrated parents are dumping their teenagers at Nebraska hospitals -- even crossing state lines to do it -- and the state Legislature has scheduled a special hearing to try to stem the tide.
Nebraska's "safe haven" law, intended to allow parents to anonymously hand over an infant to a hospital without being prosecuted, isn't working out as planned.
Of the 17 children relinquished since the law took effect in July, only four are younger than 10 -- and all four are among the nine siblings abandoned by a man September 24 at an Omaha hospital.
On Tuesday, a 14-year-old girl from Council Bluffs, Iowa, was abandoned at Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, just across the Missouri River from Council Bluffs. The case marks the first time a parent has crossed state lines to abandon a teenager in Nebraska, authorities said.
"The few situations we've seen so far demonstrate the need for a change in Nebraska's safe haven law," Gov. Dave Heineman said in a statement Monday. "In the coming legislative session, I will advocate for changes that put the focus back on protecting an infant in danger. That should be our priority."
All 50 states have safe haven laws, but only Nebraska's lacks an age limit. Nebraska's part-time Legislature is adjourned until January, but two state legislative committees will hold a joint hearing November 13 to discuss a remedy.
"They've got a huge problem," said Linda Spears, vice president for policy and public affairs for the Child Welfare League of America. "It's a pretty poorly constructed law to meet its original intent."
When it was introduced in the Legislature, the bill had a presumed age limitation of 72 hours, said Todd Landry, director of the state's Division of Children and Family Services.
"The original intent was to protect infants from the immediate danger of being harmed," he said.
However, the law's final language uses the word "child" and does not specify an age limit, leaving it open to interpretation. Other states' laws specify the maximum age at which a child may be relinquished, ranging from 72 hours in several states to 1 year in North Dakota, according to the National Center for State Courts.
"Clearly in these cases so far that we've seen, none of these children were in any immediate danger of being harmed," Landry said. "It is our opinion that the law does need to be modified."
The law is being abused, Heineman's statement said.
"Safe haven laws were not designed to allow families having difficulty with older youth and teenagers to abandon their children or responsibilities as parents," he said.
tl;dr
Nebraska passed a law allowing parents to drop off their children at hospitals to avoid the responsibilities of parenthood. They were thinking babies (probably under 12 months) but didn't actually write in an age limit. Now shithead parents are literally coming from all over to leave their children (of all ages, including teenagers) at the mercy of the state of Nebraska. Score one for humanity guys.
(CNN) -- Frustrated parents are dumping their teenagers at Nebraska hospitals -- even crossing state lines to do it -- and the state Legislature has scheduled a special hearing to try to stem the tide.
Nebraska's "safe haven" law, intended to allow parents to anonymously hand over an infant to a hospital without being prosecuted, isn't working out as planned.
Of the 17 children relinquished since the law took effect in July, only four are younger than 10 -- and all four are among the nine siblings abandoned by a man September 24 at an Omaha hospital.
On Tuesday, a 14-year-old girl from Council Bluffs, Iowa, was abandoned at Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, just across the Missouri River from Council Bluffs. The case marks the first time a parent has crossed state lines to abandon a teenager in Nebraska, authorities said.
"The few situations we've seen so far demonstrate the need for a change in Nebraska's safe haven law," Gov. Dave Heineman said in a statement Monday. "In the coming legislative session, I will advocate for changes that put the focus back on protecting an infant in danger. That should be our priority."
All 50 states have safe haven laws, but only Nebraska's lacks an age limit. Nebraska's part-time Legislature is adjourned until January, but two state legislative committees will hold a joint hearing November 13 to discuss a remedy.
"They've got a huge problem," said Linda Spears, vice president for policy and public affairs for the Child Welfare League of America. "It's a pretty poorly constructed law to meet its original intent."
When it was introduced in the Legislature, the bill had a presumed age limitation of 72 hours, said Todd Landry, director of the state's Division of Children and Family Services.
"The original intent was to protect infants from the immediate danger of being harmed," he said.
However, the law's final language uses the word "child" and does not specify an age limit, leaving it open to interpretation. Other states' laws specify the maximum age at which a child may be relinquished, ranging from 72 hours in several states to 1 year in North Dakota, according to the National Center for State Courts.
"Clearly in these cases so far that we've seen, none of these children were in any immediate danger of being harmed," Landry said. "It is our opinion that the law does need to be modified."
The law is being abused, Heineman's statement said.
"Safe haven laws were not designed to allow families having difficulty with older youth and teenagers to abandon their children or responsibilities as parents," he said.
tl;dr
Nebraska passed a law allowing parents to drop off their children at hospitals to avoid the responsibilities of parenthood. They were thinking babies (probably under 12 months) but didn't actually write in an age limit. Now shithead parents are literally coming from all over to leave their children (of all ages, including teenagers) at the mercy of the state of Nebraska. Score one for humanity guys.