Tag Archives: Nebraska; safe haven

This is worth a second blog. From today’s Omaha World-Herald: LINCOLN — Nebraska hospitals have no clue who they might find on their doorsteps when the state’s unique “safe haven” law goes into effect Friday. It could be fragile newborns left by frightened and desperate young women. Or it could be unruly teenagers dropped off by frustrated parents. It looks like the folks at the Nebraska Children’s Home Society aren’t too pleased about it: Karen Authier, executive director of the Nebraska Children’s Home Society adoption agency, (NOTE: a longtime vocal opponent of legal baby dumps) worries that such predictions are too optimistic. She said her agency and others already have gotten disturbing calls from people talking about using the new law to drop off children who are more than a year old. If they follow through, she said, their children could be badly traumatized by the experience. “I hope this bill isn’t misused,” Authier said. “Because it’s written so broadly, it could be misinterpreted as encouraging people to abandon children.”Sen. Pete Pirsch, the bill’s sponsor admits that the laws takes a “unique approach,” and “To me, the important thing was to get through a safe haven bill,” said Pirsch, adding Continue Reading →

You’ll all be glad to know that Nebraska’s “Baby” Safe Haven law goes into effect today. Note the quotation marks. They’re important. Unlike every other state that puts an age limit on dumping (3 days, 7 days, 1 month) the Nebraska legislature gives desperate killer parents a break. Nebraskans can dump their resident juvenile-of- any-age, as long as it’s done in a politically correct manner –at a hospital. Unfortunately turning Biff and Buffy over to the cops will still get Mom and Dad a stay in the GrayBar Hotel. This isn’t new news. I wrote about Nebraska’s odd safe haven take previously in Nebraska’s New Baby Dump Law: Better than Ritilan. You can read the poorly written law here. Read the KETV-Omaha report to get the full absurdity and ramifications: The new law that takes effect Friday says that any individual can leave a minor with a hospital employee without fear of being charged with abandonment.”Then it becomes a nurturing, supportive, helpful atmosphere versus criminal neglect or abuse-type atmosphere,” Chambers said. (Deb Chambers is , the director of the Family Birth Center.)… …The new law says anyone under the age of 19 can be dropped at a hospital. Hospital staff Continue Reading →