Nebraska finally puts age limit on safe-haven bill

The Nebraska safe-haven bill allowed parents to leave an unwanted infant child at a hospital with no questions asked.

It was intended to prevent newborns from being dumped in trash bins or worse.

However, shortsighted Nebraska lawmakers neglected to include an age limit when they passed the original bill.

The law has been used to abandon 35 children at hospitals in the state since July. Many of them were preteens or teenagers as old as 17.

Hospital officials have described children crying hysterically as they pleaded with their parents not to leave them.

Five of the children have been from other states, including from as far away as Florida and Michigan. The law was not revised to preclude infants from other states from being dropped off.

With no age limit, the original law made Nebraska a dumping ground for unruly and unwanted juveniles from other states.

None of the children dropped off in Nebraska were infants.

How could Nebraska lawmakers pass such a bill without a time limit? Was it because Nebraska does not have a Senate and a House of Representatives? The “one house” Unicameral form of government in Nebraska means a bill is only acted on once making legislative oversight much easier.

Nebraska is the only state with just one legislative chamber.

Link