Nebraska was the last state in the union to pass Safe Haven laws and in there inability to agree on a maximum age, a bill was passed without an age restriction. This has resulted in people dropping of many of their older children, I mean teenagers…
according to the target new article:
five 17-year-olds, two 16-year-olds, six 15-year-olds, two 14-year-olds, three 13-year-olds — have been abandoned, along with eight children who were 11 or 12. Five of the children dropped off have been from out of state.
To me, that’s pretty amazing, but it begs the quiestion:
Are these people turning in their older children just dirtbags and no longer want the responsibilty of parenthood, or are things really that rough for them that surrendering their children is a better option.
Personally, I think it’s a little of both, but let’s take a look at the first part. Dirtbag parents. How many people these days are popping out babies when he or she really have no business doing any such thing and the only reason they’re kept around is because getting rid of them wasn’t an option. You don’t want to know what I think should happen to these parents.
The other side of the coin is economic and is something that is hard to imagine but could this just be the leading edge of coming hard times and some of these folks are just some of the first effected? Just to think that things could get that bad is a terrifiing concept but is parts of the world today things are worse with mothers having to choose which child lives or dies. Rob, has a great blog post involving this subject and is definately worth a read if you haven’t read it already.
Are we really going down this road as a country?
I have a simple exercise for today and it’ll only take a minute:
First, try to imaging that things have gotten so bad that you are willing to give up your child. If you’re unable to come up with anything other than, “I’d never give up my child.” they you’re doin it wrong.
Second, imaging a situation in which you would be forced to choose which of your children eat, or worse yet, which one dies because food is that scarce.
Take your time and let the image fully develop in your mind, not pleasent is it? Now ask yourself if you ever want to be caught in that situation. Yeah? niether do I! As a parent I beleive that I have an obligation through an unspoken oath to provide and do what I can to protect and provide for my children and my wife, to my last breath…
Not that I’ll survive, and not that I won’t fail, but I’m not allowing my family or myself go down without the proverbial “fight”
What about you?
-Mike
