Children are Getting Abandoned in Nebraska

Since the Nebraska Safe Haven Law went into effect this July 2008, 17 children have been given up at various Nebraska hospitals.  The Safe Haven law was intended to protect unwanted newborn children, but no age limit is specified in the Nebraska Law.   Recently, the following were abandoned at Creighton University Medical Center:

• Nine children aged 1 through 17 who were abandoned by the father after the mother died last year and he lost his job this year. He allowed his 18-year old daughter to stay at home.  His in-laws lamented that he should have approached them first and they would have been happy to help.  They are now fighting to gain custody of the children.
• A 14-year old girl from Iowa who was driven to and abandoned in Nebraska by her grandparents in to “teach her a lesson”.  The grandparents later changed their mind and got her back.

Read the entire text of the Nebraska Safe Haven Law  here.

Experts now say there is great potential for this law to be abused, and with how badly the economy is doing nowadays, they fear that many more children could be abandoned.

Image from Stephen & Karen Conn’s Nebraska Travel Tips.