Dad Ditches 9 Kids Under New Neb. Law

Children, Ages 1-17, Left At Hospital; Safe Haven Law Lets Parents Abandon Kids Without Punishment

(AP)  Nine children were left at a hospital by their father late Wednesday under the state's new safe haven law, a move officials say illustrates the problems many feared when the rule went into effect.

The father, who was not identified, left the children aged 1 to 17 at Creighton University Medical Center's emergency room.

The law, which went into effect in July, allows caregivers to abandon children at any state-licensed hospital without fear of prosecution. It was initially intended to protect infants - like similar laws in other states - but was amended to include children and teenagers.

At least four children between the ages of 11 and 15 have been abandoned by parents since the law took effect.

The nine youngsters surrendered Wednesday are OK, said Kathie Osterman, a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. She didn't know how many were boys or girls, or why their father left them.

More information will be available at a late morning news conference, Osterman said.

Nebraska was the last state in the nation to adopt a safe-haven law. Under previous law, a parent who abandoned a baby could have been charged with child neglect or abandonment, both misdemeanors, or child abuse, a felony.

State Sen. Arnie Stuthman said he introduced the bill intending to protect infants. In a compromise with senators worried about arbitrary age limits, the measure was expanded to include the word "child."

The law doesn't further define child, and some have interpreted that to mean anyone in Nebraska under the age of 19. Others have taken the common law meaning of child - those under age 14.

Abandoning teenagers was not the original intent of the law, Stuthman said Thursday.

"People are leaving them off just because they can't control them," he said. "They're probably in no real danger, so it's an easy way out for the caretaker."

[minnick8-2009]

THEY ARE ''''ALREADY'''' DOING THE IMMORAL STUFF..... LIKE AMERICAN HAVE ''''RECENTLY'''' STARTED TO DO.

Posted by Good4Always

My question was to Ethiopia93 who was being extremely judgemental. I wanted him to answer regarding his homeland and point his finger back at himself. I do recognize the state of decay in which America has declined. You don''t have to shout.

[gaye5]

Hey, this article is suposed to be about a father who for what ever reason has placed or dumped his children in care, NOT discpiline or the lack of..

The effect that this will have on these children either way is terrible, Poor kids.. lets hope that they are given to someone who will love them propely and I hope that they will not be seperated as their trauma is already 10 out of 10...

[gaye5]

IrishWench, you said that you wondered how old I was, that there has always been all these things, and of course there has and it will continue to be so. From what you have said it is obvious that you have been brought up in a miserable home and in a bad area where so many people were unhappy thus perhaps as a child you felt that the whole worlds population was like that..
I see things differently, the people around us were lovely people, of course with their problems but still lovely, and when we went back to NZ to where my husband had been the deputy principal for 5 years they put on a surprise reunion for us. 65 people got together to welcome us home and in the 15 years we had been out of the country only 4 couples had divorced.
My husband is now teaching school of distance education which means that he avoids the problems of children in today''s society. He specializes in children with neurological problems and also bright children, has one of the highest grading that you can get and loved teaching so yes I reminisce of yesterday of when you could have 50 kids in a class and actually teach them, simply because they behaved themselves..

[gaye5]

IrishWench, I dont remember saying that ....I was judging the 9 kids surrendered today and use the term horrific?
I dont remember saying that it was horrific even..
It is not the childrens fault that they were surrendered, and perhaps it is also not the fathers fault, perhaps he was near a breakdown or felt that he was not a good enough father and that perhaps someone else could do it better, or perhaps he might have felt that he would loose it and do harm to these children so surrendered them to save them.. We cannot judge even when we get the full facts we have not walked in their shoes...
All I was saying was that when children were given good smacks that we didnt have this problem, but of course it is not just the lack of good discipline that is to blame, there is also TV, children being put into day care centers, and much more, it is very hard for parents today... My husband has been a principal of many schools and has seen many thing, but he will tell us that society has gone down the drain with a rush since parents and schools were no longer able to use the strap.
And by the way, you dont need a good education, or university degrees to make a good job of bring up your child, all you need is lots of love, discipline, more love, fun and respect one for another..

[chad55555]

The reason people can''t control their kids,we have turned into Russia and the government tells you how to control your kids or go to jail.Most parents are scared to death when it comes to punsihment for kids because the law will wipe PARENTS out AND THE KIDS KNOW IT. TOO MUCH GOVERNMENT CONTROL AND LESS GOD WORD CONTROL.I know a case where a mans daughter(14) was taking drugs and working for a pimp,the father went got her,had to punch the pimp to put his daughter in the car. The pimp and daughter called police and filed charges,theman went to jail for 6 months,lost his good job,his house and his life.BECAUSE THE POLICE WANT CRIME SO THEY CAN KEEP THEIR JOBS AND SOCIAL WORKERS HAVE TO FIND SO MUCH WRONG TO KEEP THEIR JOBS SAFE. EVEN IF IT''S A LIE.

[gaye5]

IrishWench, that is fantastic, you have brought up your children successfully, and yes there are many horrific parents who should not have had children. But just because you came from a rotten background and have made it doesnt mean that every one can do it. did you have girls or both girls and boys???
I had three sons and a daughter and even though the two very bright strong willed children had many smacks
and the other two didnt need them much they have also all grown up very well. One is a policeman, another works for the police, another is a construction manager for commercial buildings and has just finished a 46 stories building, my daughter has her own business, and were all smacked... The worse of these strong willed children were just here tonight with his wife and child insisting that we all go to NZ for a holiday together and were so excited about it. All our children are here and bring their frinds over to our place as they say that we are two of their best friends.. as I said, when you smack you child and if you do so, there must also be a mass of loving, cuddles, loving, fun and more loving, it was obvious that you didnt get that which is so sad..and yet you have been able to turn that horror around and do the best by your children, and good on you...

[wl7bzh]

Discipline is a continuum with two extremes-No discipline vs. child abuse.

The trick is knowing where discipline ends and abuse begins.

Discipline teaches a child that what was done is wrong-not that the child was bad.

Abuse is tantamount to putting a shock collar on a dog to keep it from crossing a line.

Just because a smack across the mouth from "Yur ole man" made you what you are today, does not make the technique an appropriate form of discipline.

[airboatboy1]

Doe''s this law happen to include elderly parents?

[Latrocinor]

Don''t worry, Obama will be your momma and wipe away every tear.

[tmittelstaed]

The thing about spanking and smacking that most people miss is that done properly, it is NOT an emotional issue. If a parent is emotionally overwrought and they lash out, hitting the kid, all discipline value to the spanking is worthless. The whole point of it is to help the kids get control of themselves. Kids get excited and tend to lose control, that''s natural. I''ve seen our 6 year old get riled up to the point that she is literally cursing like a drunken sailor in public. You just can''t always take the time to do the "timeout" routine and sometimes the kids get riled up to the point that a timeout does nothing - they just can''t get control of themselves. At such times a single, solid, open-handed smack across the mouth followed by the evil eye and and a stern lecture will get their attention and allow them to get back control of themselves in a way that a thousand days of timeouts will not. Or, a single solid swat across the bum.
If you think this is barbaric, you need to go read the book "Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence" Children are NOT born civilized, they LEARN civilization. Until they learn it, they operate off instinct - and their instinct is hard-wired into them by their genes.

[frankie2fing]

Or the Democrat plan of "you don''''t have to be responsible for your life...big brother will always take care of you"? Or the notion of "it takes a village"?

Posted by blazercoach1

Hey Dummy,
Nebraska is a Red State, run by redumblicans, and this law was drafted and voted in by redumblicans. Even when the try to do right (which is seldom) they still manage to screw it up. Nice job, NEBRASKA!

[frankie2fing]

Or the Democrat plan of "you don''''t have to be responsible for your life...big brother will always take care of you"? Or the notion of "it takes a village"?

Posted by blazercoach1

Hey Dummy,
Nebraska is a Red State, run by redumblicans, and this law was drafted and voted in by redumblicans. Even when the try to do right (which is seldom) they still manage to screw it up. Nice job, NEBRASKA!

[slaybelle]

Shame on that father! And as for the lawmakers being "smart" ~ It doesn''t necessarily mean "wise" ~ You can have a smart, well-educated fool which is what these lawmakers are.

[biomegaly]

I just read this entire thread. It''s just a matter of right and wrong. And Nebraska is just wrong. These are highly educated people writing laws (or so we thought). Didn''t they proof-read it when through? How dumb can they be?

For those of you ( 45 years old) who think it''s because we don''t discipline our children--YOU ARE WRONG! I''m a victim of child-abuse and I will never get over it. I was 3 years old and didn''t know any better--my mother did--she should not have beat me with a belt. Even a slap across the face is ridiculous. It''s about COMMUNICATION. It''s about taking the TIME TO TALK TO YOUR KIDS. It''s about spending time with your kids and getting to know them and letting them get to know you.

I feel so sad for the children. Imagine being unloved, unwanted, and without your brothers and sisters.

And remember, hind-sight is always 20/20!

[incog-nito]

Perhaps Nebraska has found an alternative to illegal immigrant labor.

[amazedd]

We make ''em, you raise ''em. Brilliant!
Just what is the State meant to do with all these kids?

[sgccoral]

Or the Democrat plan of "you don''''''''t have to be responsible for your life...big brother will always take care of you"? Or the notion of "it takes a village"?

A "Democrat" plan? Nebraska''s governor is a Republican, the legislative majority is Republican, the state senator (Stuthman) who proposed the safe-haven law is a Republican. I agree with previous posters that the law bypasses partisan lines because it''s meant to protect the children, but spin doctoring the Democratic party into big brother when the GOP formulated the bill and signed off on it? No.

[porchwatcher]

Will they take my husband?

[blazercoach1]

Toby,

Or the Democrat plan of "you don''t have to be responsible for your life...big brother will always take care of you"? Or the notion of "it takes a village"?

[toby2957]

Wow... looks like this "father" followed the republican abstinence plan.