To the state's surprise and embarrassment, more than half of the 31 children legally abandoned under the safe-haven law since it took effect in mid-July have been teenagers.
But state officials may have inadvertently made things worse with their hesitant response to the problem: The number of drop-offs has almost tripled to about three a week since Gov. Dave Heineman announced on Oct. 29 that lawmakers would rewrite the law.
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The safe-haven law was intended to save "Dumpster babies" by allowing desperate young mothers to abandon their newborns at a hospital without fear of prosecution. But lawmakers could not agree on an age limit, and the law as passed uses only the word "child."
All states have safe-haven laws, but in every state but Nebraska, the law applies to infants only.
The law of unintended consequences strikes again!
Lawmakers were warned what would happen when this law passed, but, in typical politician fashion, they thought they knew better. As often happens, when politicians try to solve a problem, they end up making things worse.
But the money quote:
"These are largely families at a point of incredible desperation," said Wayne Sensor, chief executive of Alegent Health. "They aren't bad parents or bad kids. They simply don't know what services are available out there."
Yes, Mr. Sensor. These ARE bad parents. There's something wrong with our society when we refuse to condemn a parent who abandons their child as a bad parent.
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