November 22, 2008
Finally, an End to the Insanity
In July, Nebraska finally joined the other 49 states and passed a Safe Haven law. Nebraska's law allows parents to drop children off at designated hospitals in cases they feel they could harm the child or do not feel they can raise the child - with no questions asked. As of 12:01am on Saturday, this law was revised. Why the revision? Nebraska did not have an age limit and since July, 35 children, many of them teenagers, have been dropped off at Nebraska hospitals.
Lawmakers finally decided to have a special session this week and the governor signed the revisions on Friday.
The 30-day age limit will take effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and Nebraska will join 13 other states with a 30-day age cap.Heineman signed the bill on Friday afternoon without fanfare and did not immediately issue a statement on the law.But some have criticized the amendment, saying it does nothing to address the social issues uncovered by the original law, like parents who feel they don't have the resources to face out-of-control teenagers.
Even before the Safe Haven law, resources have been available to help parents who feel they cannot handle their "out-of-control" teenagers. I'm pretty certain those resources were also available to parents who decided to drive OUT OF STATE to abandon their child in a Nebraska hospital. I, for one, am happy that they finally decided that the money for a special session was a necessary expenditure and that the right decision was made to change the law. It's a shame that it took the abandonment of 35 children to light a fire under our lawmakers.
I can fully appreciate the difficulties in raising children and, having witnessed my parents deal with a son addicted to heroin and whatever else he could get his hands on, sometimes it can seem overwhelming. There were times they probably wished they didn't have to deal with him or his behavior, but they did and they survived. They took responsibility for the child they brought into this world and I'm very happy that Nebraska finally returned that responsibility to the parents.
