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Is it ever OK to abandon children?
You might have heard by now about the dad that abandoned 9 of his 10 kids at a Nebraska hospital, protected by the state's Safe Haven law. Most states enacted the law to lessen the likelihood that young or new moms would leave babies in dumpsters; Nebraska is the first state to include children up to the age of 19.
As a result, more and more school-age and teenage kids are being abandoned by their families.
The man claims his kids are better off without him—a piece in the Times (Link) says the family was often without gas or water, and that the house was in disarray.
Was it better for him to leave the kids at the hospital or should he have asked for more help? It seems like Nebraska might want to revise their law...it's got to be hard for these kids to know their dad would just leave them like that, and they'll likely be separated.
That is one of the saddest stories I've heard in a long time. Those poor kids will never get over it. Wasn't there any family he could turn to? I understand that circumstances get tough and you're not sure if you can make it, but you can't give up on your family.
