Children Abandoned Daily In San Francisco

Children Abandoned Daily In San Francisco
It doesn't just happen in Nebraska. San Francisco youth shelters like get "throwaway kids" every day. The fact is, it is easy for parents to abandon their kids in this country.

C.W. Nevius

SAN FRANCISCO -- The car pulled up to the Larkin Street Youth Services drop-in center on Sutter Street about a year ago. A mother and a daughter got out and walked in.

She was done, the mother said. Her daughter, who was under 18, was using drugs, was sexually active and wouldn't stay at home. She was uncontrollable.

So, she said to the staff, you can have her. And mom left.

In the past few months, Nebraska's controversial "safe haven" law, which allows parents to abandon their children without fear of prosecution, has become a national story. Since July, 17 children, ages 1 to 17, have been dropped off at hospitals and police stations by parents who said they could no longer care for them. The law was amended this week to apply only to parents of newborns.