I wonder how long it took them to come up with that headline.
Anyway, this is an article from Newsweek about what’s happened in Nebraska since they changed their safe haven law to only include children up to 30 days old.
I’d like you to read the article and offer your opinion. Are some of these mothers too quick to in depending on the government to help them out or do they have legitimate concerns?
Thanks to Stormey for the tip.
Parents of abandoned newborn taken into custody:
21-year-old Harold Vermal O’Neal and an unidentified 17-year-old mother were arrested for leaving their newborn at a fire station. The problem was they left the newborn outside wrapped in a towel inside of a diaper box. When the baby was discovered its body temperature was at 88 degrees.
South Carolina’s safe haven law states that a baby can be left at a fire station but someone has to take physical custody of the baby.
I do lay partial blame on the parents for not being smart enough to realize that the baby could have died due to exposure but the safe haven laws from state to state are so varying it’s hard for anyone to that wants to safely give their baby to a safe haven to know what their states procedure is.
A federal safe haven law is needed and needed badly.
California ‘haven’ youth in home state:
The 14-year-old from Davis, California who was dropped off by his foster Breeder in Nebraska is returning to California.
He’s now under the custody of his local social services department. That makes me wonder if his foster Breeder actually tried to find assistance within her community or was driving 1,170 miles to Nebraska her first choice.
Yolo Mom Who Abandoned Boy In Nebraska Speaks Out:
The Breeder who did drive the 1,170 miles from California to Nebraska is trying to defend her actions in the media.
The 14-year-old was her foster child who she’s had since he was 4. According to her recently he had gotten into drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, and stealing. She also says that he threatened her and her family with knives and was thrown out of a boys’ home for statutory rape. All of this sounds oddly familiar. How can a 14-year-old be charged with statutory rape?
She claims she tried to get the police to arrest him but they told her that juvenile hall was full.
So what do you think dear readers? Legitimate use of Nebraska’s old safe haven laws or a cop-out?
Safe Haven Child Dropped Off Before Change:
A Breeder from Yolo, County, California was able to sneak in under the buzzer and dump off a 14-year-old boy at a Kimball, Nebraska hospital. For those of you keeping score that’s 1,170 miles if traveling by car.
The Breeder who dropped him just barely made it in before the new law limiting safe haven drop offs to under 30 days old. The boy was dropped off on Friday and the new law went into effect Saturday at Midnight.
Again I say if these Breeders put half the effort into raising their kids that they did in dumping them off maybe they wouldn’t have had a problem.
Desperate Mom: I May Use Safe Haven For My Son:
I apologize for being behind on the news. This article came out Thursday and it talks about a Nebraska mother who was so desperate with what to do with her 13-year-old son that she was thinking about dropping him off at a safe haven.
In the article, the woman states that her son beat up a handicapped student, steals, smokes pot, beats up siblings, and could possibly be sexually assaulting another child.
Personally, I think that this kid has gone beyond safe haven and needs a stay at least in juvenile correction. But let me ask you the reader, do you think this woman dropped the ball somewhere along the line and what should she do?
30-day age limit on haven law advances in Legislature:
It seems that the Nebraska Legislature is leaning towards a 30-day limit for their new and improved safe haven law. This is expected to be law come Friday.
There were actually some people who wanted the law to remain wide open. The law was originally designed to prevent baby dumping but the way it was written Nebraska it led to lazy parenting in my opinion.
Nebraska fears rush to drop off kids before haven law change:
While the Nebraska Legislature was holding an emergency session to see what could be done about their very loose safe haven laws three more kids were dumped off.
This past Thursday a 14-year-old boy and his 17-year-old sister were dropped off with the 17-year-old girl running off from the hospital. Also, a 5-year-old was dropped off at a different hospital in Omaha. Also, the article states that the DSD from Miami who dumped off his kid flew in so he doesn’t get the mile traveling record.
Legislators say it will be at least a week before the law can be changed. So now the Breeders still have time to dump off their kids before the holidays.
Thanks to Ed for the tip.
Safe Haven: Miami Boy Is State’s 31st:
Nebraska’s 31st safe haven drop off was recorded yesterday. This time it was an 11-year-old boy from Miami, Florida. It seems like that the local Nebraska media are so fed up with these stories they’re barely reporting on them.
I don’t know how the DSD* traveled to drop his son off but if he went by car he would be the new distance record holder since Miami to Omaha is 1600+ miles.
Will there be any more before tomorrow’s emergency meeting by the Nebraska Legislature?
(*Defective Sperm Donor)
UPDATE: Baby Left In SW Charlotte McDonald’s Restroom:
I love it when local stories make the national news and by love it I mean not really.
Anyway, an hours-old newborn was abandoned in a McDonald’s restroom in Charlotte, NC today.
A man took the infant into the women’s restroom and ran out of the building. A customer found the baby. The baby was rushed to the hospital, examined and was found to be healthy.
What’s the problem you ask? Doesn’t North Carolina have safe haven laws? Why yes, yes we do. The baby can be up to seven days old but must be left with a responsible adult. A McDonald’s restroom is not a responsible adult.
I wonder if the man was on his way to a responsible adult only to freak out at the prospect. Either way, police are saying that the mother could face charges.
Which leads to another issue. State safe haven laws are too confusing from state to state. In some states, a police station is a safe haven. In some states, it isn’t.
There needs to be a federal safe haven law.