The count is now up to four children in four days dropped off at Nebraska hospitals under the state’s safe haven law. The total has risen to 23 children since September.
Two teenagers were dropped off at hospitals last night. The parents of a 17-year-old Lincoln boy say they couldn’t financially meet the boy’s needs and abandoned him at Bryan LGH West.
Also, a 15-year-old girl was left at Immanuel Medical Center in Omaha. Monday, a 15-year-old Douglas County girl was dropped off at Creighton University Medical, while Saturday, a 12-year-old Georgia boy was left at a Lincoln hospital. That boy is being returned to his home state today.
Nebraska’s safe-haven law is the only one in the country that lets anyone leave a child as old as 18 years at a state-licensed hospital without fear of prosecution for abandonment. Legislators are considering changing the law to apply only to children a few days old.