南向き翻訳事務所 岩渕デボラ ブログ

Much is being made of the parents driving their children to Nebraska and dropping them off at hospitals where a new law has promised that they will be cared for, no questions asked.

An overwhelmed widower brought in nine of his ten children, including two teenagers. A mother drove her 13-year-old son in from Michigan, a 12-hour drive. Two grandparents brought a 14-year-old girl from Iowa to leave her.

The media and public sentiment seems set against the parents who have taken advantage of this law, but it is interesting to note that on the same page of Yahoo! News, there was a video about a grand jury case on a young woman accused of murdering her three-year-old. Too bad Florida is such a long way from Nebraska.

In a society where entire fortunes are spent trying to conceive a baby, we sometimes lose sight of how difficult it can be to raise the bundles of joy we have been blessed with. What must it mean to publicly admit failure and somehow trust that someone will understand and take care of a child you may love but feel unable to deal with? What if the only hope you have for you and your child is getting in the car and driving to Omaha?

Nebraska’s law is not the perfect solution, but it seems to be the only place offering a solution of some sort.

A Catholic hospital in Japan has what is known as a “baby post,” a place to anonymously leave a baby one doesn’t feel capable of raising. The first “baby” left there was a three-year-old toddler. There was immediate public outcry. What a horrible hospital to induce such behavior! What horrible parents to do such a thing!

At the same time, child abuse is on the rise. Which is the better choice for young or unstable or unsupported parents at wit’s end? All in favor of the baby post in Japan or the Nebraska safe-haven law raise your hands. OK, now all who favor child abuse–?

Of course there are other solutions and other avenues of assistance, and I would encourage anyone with childrearing stress to seek the help of mental health professionals. If you are not in such a situation, I only ask that you not judge the actions of desperate moms and dads, and not condemn the very institutions that are there to keep them and their children safe.