Father drops 9 kids off at hospital

[camoor]

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nine children were left at a hospital by their father late Wednesday under the state's new safe haven law, a move officials say illustrates the problems many feared when the rule went into effect.
The father, who was not identified, left the children aged 1 to 17 at Creighton University Medical Center's emergency room.
The law, which went into effect in July, allows caregivers to abandon children at any state-licensed hospital without fear of prosecution.
...
Abandoning teenagers was not the original intent of the law, Stuthman said Thursday.
"People are leaving them off just because they can't control them," he said. "They're probably in no real danger, so it's an easy way out for the caretaker."


http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hlZbpXbUt5CbF3Ra6tEc-6uzzToAD93DPJO84

People like this piss me off. 9 kids? This isn't a teenage HS whoopsie, WTF was this guy thinking.

[Msut77]

http://home.iprimus.com.au/comicmint/cletus-title-card-E1360.JPG

[Dead of Knight]

And this is why me and many other people did not want this to be passed....

[mykevermin]

9 kids? Nebraska?

Red state values, indeed.

[camoor]

http://home.iprimus.com.au/comicmint/cletus-title-card-E1360.JPG

Oh man that cracked me up! :lol:

[bubbafett4hire]

" You know It's Sad You Need A License To Buy a Dog, You Need A License To Catch A Fish or drive a car, But They Let Any Asshole Be A Father" - Keanu Reeves Parenthood -1989-

[bigdaddy]

They should have written "new borns" into the law, but the hicks in that state couldn't figure that out.

[lilboo]

:rofl: @ leaving a 17 year old off. I mean really now.

[Xevious]

I have an idea...How about a law for free vasectomies for men who use the Safe Haven law...

[fatherofcaitlyn]

I have an idea...How about a law for free vasectomies for men who use the Safe Haven law...

You can't cut me twice.

...

A 17 year old? Couldn't the 17 year old babysit some of the kids?

[Snake2715]

Wow. This will get swept under, but I am curious as to how it will work out...

[fatherofcaitlyn]

Does the state have to return the children to the parent without a court hearing?

[detectiveconan16]

Hmm... will the hospital dump the kids onto the street near a clinic if they can't provide any care for them?

[Squall835]

http://home.iprimus.com.au/comicmint/cletus-title-card-E1360.JPG

"Hey, what's goin' on on this side?"

[trq]

:rofl: @ leaving a 17 year old off. I mean really now.

LOL. Wow, that is *fucked* up.

[thrustbucket]

The kids probably just pissed him off and he's just teaching them a lesson. Probably didn't eat their broccoli or do their chores.

[Koggit]

They should really have an age limit on the law...

[HotShotX]

The kids probably just pissed him off and he's just teaching them a lesson. Probably didn't eat their broccoli or do their chores.

I bet the daughters did what the mother never did: Tell their father "No".

~HotShotX

[KingBroly]

Hmm...I see this law getting overturned soon. Still though, pathetic. Absolutely, positively pathetic.

[bigdaddy]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080926/ap_on_re_us/children_safe_haven

Neb. dad who left 9 kids says he was overwhelmed

By TIMBERLY ROSS, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 14 minutes ago

An out-of-work widower who abandoned nine of his children at a hospital under Nebraska's new safe haven law said he was overwhelmed without his wife and just "fell apart." "I hope they know I love them," Gary Staton told KETV. "I hope their future is better without me around them."
The unique law allows caregivers to abandon babies and teenagers alike at hospitals without fear of prosecution. Originally intended to protect infants, it was expanded in a legislative compromise to protect any "child." Some have interpreted that to mean anyone under 19.
Staton anonymously left the five boys and four girls — ages 1 to 17 — at Creighton University Medical Center's emergency room on Wednesday night. He has a 10th child, a daughter who is 18 and was not dropped off.
A number of relatives have volunteered to take the siblings, said Kathie Osterman, a spokeswoman for the state department Health and Human Services.
Staff members were doing required background checks Friday in hopes of placing the children in the next few days, she said.
Staton said his wife died early last year, shortly after delivering their youngest child. He said he quit his job because of his family responsibilities but couldn't pay rent or utilities or take care of his kids.
"I was with her for 17 years, and then she was gone," he said of his late wife. "What was I going to do? We raised them together. I didn't think I could do it alone. I fell apart. I couldn't take care of them."
Staton said he surrendered them so they would be safe.
A call Friday to a number listed for Staton went unanswered.
A 2007 interview with Staton's oldest daughter in Omaha North High School's student newspaper said she shouldered some of the parenting duties at home. Despite helping to feed her siblings, check their homework and put them to bed, the teen managed to graduate a year early.
Once a child is abandoned under the safe haven law, the courts become involved. Parental rights don't end automatically, but parents who change their minds about abandonment may find it difficult to regain custody.
At least 16 children have been abandoned since the law took effect in July.
Hospitals call police when a child is left, and officers will usually place a child in protective custody. Then the county attorney determines whether a child should be allowed to return home and makes a recommendation to a judge.
Now that teenagers are being abandoned, Gov. Dave Heineman, who signed the law, and some other former supporters are saying changes are needed. The Legislature reconvenes in January.




I love the very last line, they are really hard workers there, I want a three month holiday break!

[JolietJake]

Well, at least the guy did what he thought was best for them. He doesn't sound like parent of the year anyway.