Pendragons Princess

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081029/ap_on_re_us/safe_haven

22nd child abandoned at Neb. hospital under law

Tue Oct 28, 2008

OMAHA, Neb. – A 15-year-old girl was abandoned by her father Tuesday night at an Omaha hospital, bringing to 22 the number of children left under the state’s unique safe-haven law since it took effect in July.

The girl left Tuesday at Omaha’s Immanuel Medical Center is a state resident, said Children and Family Services division director Todd Landry in a statement.

State officials declined to answer questions about the case until Wednesday, when more information could be gathered.

On Monday evening, a 15-year-old girl from Nebraska was left at Creighton University Medical Center. She has been placed in a residential shelter while authorities continue to investigate her case, Landry said.

Nebraska’s safe-haven law, which took effect in July, is the only one in the country that lets caregivers leave children as old as 18 at a state-licensed hospital without fear of prosecution. The youngest child abandoned so far was only a year old; 12 of the 22 were teenagers. Three children were from other states, including Iowa, Michigan and Georgia.

Lancaster County officials said Tuesday that the boy from Georgia will be turned over to a child protective worker in Cobb County, Ga., to return to his home state and to attend a court hearing Wednesday. The boy will remain in Georgia custody at least until a judge decides who should take care of him.

Nebraska’s law was intended to protect infants, but it did not define “child” in its wording. Most state lawmakers have agreed to amend the law when the Legislature reconvenes in January so that it applies only to infants up to 3 days old.
…………………………………………………………………………
It makes me wonder, what if every state in the union had this law? Would every loon of a parent drop the kid off at the hospital as soon as she or he flew off the handle? (the “parent” flying off the handle, not the child) Well, this is just one more proof positive that people truly do not know why they have children, except for the fact that everyone else does it, too (as if that makes it morally right). I guess children do not bring all that happiness and joy to parents when so many parents go out of their way to get rid of their offspring this quickly. It sounds more like these so-called parents are singing “A child brings such misery and pain into the world. There’s nothing precious to love in a child’s face…” And for those who do believe that children bring joy and happiness in adult lives, I have both a bridge and a planet I can sell them really cheap.