Spectator editorial: Family matters
Nebraska lawmakers need to change law immediately
Spectator Staff
Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: Editorial/Opinion
It appears some citizens of Nebraska are doing more than corn husking.
According to a Sept. 25 USA Today article, some Nebraska parents are abandoning their children at hospitals for reasons not related to economics. The parents won't face prosecution under a new law that allows parents to leave children at licensed hospitals without explanation. The law, originally drafted to protect newborns, was changed to cover all children in order to gain enough support to pass it.
The politicians who approved the law, likely to benefit their resumes, should feel horrible for making an extraordinary error in judgment by allowing it to pass. The broad wording of the law is astonishing considering the typical background of politicians. Having law and political science degrees should have prepared them to write a law that would not have loopholes and would keep the original goal of protecting infants. Additionally, the reaction by the parents who are giving their children away should have been anticipated by the politicians.
In addressing the parents, those who have already given their children up should not be given them back. Their decision to abandon their children shows what kind of a parent they really are and how quick it takes them to drop a responsibility.
The law needs to be changed as soon as possible to only apply to newborns, thus preventing more children from being hurt. Enough damage has already been done and it will take a while for the politicians to clean up. Things such as psychological damage, time and money cannot be made up for. Strains on resources and foster care programs have obviously occurred, and the politicians need to ensure they do their best to make up for their mistake. The polticians need to provide the abandoned children with everything they could possibly need in order to help them overcome what their government allowed to happen.
According to a Sept. 25 USA Today article, some Nebraska parents are abandoning their children at hospitals for reasons not related to economics. The parents won't face prosecution under a new law that allows parents to leave children at licensed hospitals without explanation. The law, originally drafted to protect newborns, was changed to cover all children in order to gain enough support to pass it.
The politicians who approved the law, likely to benefit their resumes, should feel horrible for making an extraordinary error in judgment by allowing it to pass. The broad wording of the law is astonishing considering the typical background of politicians. Having law and political science degrees should have prepared them to write a law that would not have loopholes and would keep the original goal of protecting infants. Additionally, the reaction by the parents who are giving their children away should have been anticipated by the politicians.
In addressing the parents, those who have already given their children up should not be given them back. Their decision to abandon their children shows what kind of a parent they really are and how quick it takes them to drop a responsibility.
The law needs to be changed as soon as possible to only apply to newborns, thus preventing more children from being hurt. Enough damage has already been done and it will take a while for the politicians to clean up. Things such as psychological damage, time and money cannot be made up for. Strains on resources and foster care programs have obviously occurred, and the politicians need to ensure they do their best to make up for their mistake. The polticians need to provide the abandoned children with everything they could possibly need in order to help them overcome what their government allowed to happen.
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