Neb. parents rush to leave kids at 'safe havens'

Neb. parents rush to leave kids at 'safe havens'
State sees uptick in abandoned children before law is rewritten

updated 59 minutes ago
LINCOLN, Neb. - The mother was running out of more than patience when she abandoned her 18-year-old daughter at a hospital over the weekend under Nebraska's safe-haven law. She was also running out of time: She knew that state lawmakers would soon meet in a special session to amend the ill-fated law so that it would apply to newborns only.

"Where am I going to get help if they change the law?" said the mother, who lives in Lincoln and asked to not be identified by name to protect her adopted child.

To the state's surprise and embarrassment, more than half of the 31 children legally abandoned under the safe-haven law since it took effect in mid-July have been teenagers.
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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.