Foible in Law Reveals Domestic Tragedies Nationwide

My last two blogs dealt with the Nebraska Safe Haven law which allowed parents to abandon children without fear of persecution, and with its amendment last weekend which makes the law apply to infants under 30 days only. While researching these blogs, I came across some interesting stories. Families.com readers shared my horror at the idea of what being abandoned by a parent–at an age of full awareness of what is happening–must do to a child’s psyche. However, at some other sites I found people commenting in favor of the Nebraska law, which was formerly the only one that did … Continue reading

Nebraska Safe Haven Law Now Applies Only to Newborns

Nebraska state legislators have changed the state’s “safe haven” law, which allowed a parent to leave a child with a hospital employee without fear of facing charges, to apply only to infants in the first month of life. Last spring, Nebraska became the last U.S. state to enact a safe haven law. These laws are intended to prevent frightened new parents from abandoning the baby in an unsafe place or from hiding and possibly killing the baby. In 49 states, the law specifies the age of the infants the law applies to. In some states the law applies to newborns … Continue reading