Well the other night on the news (Yes mermaid watches the news) there was a story about a lady. In texas, we have a law called the baby moses law and what it alows you to do is leave an unwanted baby at a firestation or hospital. Sounds criminal doesn't it? Well in Texas it's not! Anyways, this lady just walks into the firestation and literaly hands the baby to the fire chief and just walks off. No questions asked. No tickets. No charges. Nothing. Nothing but an abandoned baby.

Well I have two opinions on this story:

1. I guess it is better that the baby is being dropped of at a firestation or hospital where somebody will care for it, instead of it being left in a dumpster to die.
2. It is just making it not as hard on girls who go out and have sex and get pregnant.

I am glad that now there will be not as many babies left in texas dumpsters. However, I am not happy (Since I live in the county in Texas with the highest teen pregnancy rate) that these girls who go out and act like tramps go unpunished. I am affraid to see the teen pregnancy rate go up. And this law does nothing to stop it.

And honestly, this law makes it okay to abandon a baby. What happened to the mentality of "A baby isnt a mistake, it is a happy supprise"? What happened to the days of people being able to control their urges? Why can't girls realize how stupid that the choises are that they are making? What is this world coming to? It is... OKAY?!?!?! to leave a helpless child in a public facility?

But I want to know what YOU think. Does your state have a Baby Moses Law?

This post has been edited by Mermaid711: Aug 19 2007, 08:18 PM

Whoa, whoa, whoa! People actually left their babies in dumpsters!? If so, the police should check out the DNA of the child, and track down the parents and place them in jail.


[1]So if these people get told "You did horribly wrong!" they are allowed to give their baby to these places?
[2]Did you know common sense is not common? I myself have started to wonder if it ever was.
[3]Since when do people who act like they want ever control their urges? You've heard the saying, "Have fun! Enjoy yourselves!" Unfortunately, some don't say to what limit, and people, therefore, listen.
[4]Because they were too busy being controlled by their urges and were too into the mood. They don't realize until after things happen.
[5]To an end.
[6]Although it may have a bad affect on the child, it is better than having a life go to waste—literally speaking. Besides, better is a loving family than a mother and or father who hates their child.

And yes, my state follows this law too, but the child must be within a certain age (near out-of-the-womb age), if not, they will not take the child.

Totally better than dumpsters.

I know of a similar law in my state where yes, you can give up your baby, no questions asked. I think it works until about a week after birth. I totally don’t want to start a debate on abortion, but I think this ties in closely. You don’t know the circumstances of how it happened, or anything that might prevent the mother from being able to care for the baby.

I think that changing this law, while it would stop encouraging teen pregnancy, would cause some trouble when women really have to give up their babies. It might have been Abraham Lincoln who said something along the lines of “It’s better to let 100 guilty men walk free than to convict one innocent man.” That’s nowhere near as nice as he put it, but the point is the same. Better many babies with adoptive families than even a single one with a horrible home that can’t take care of it (or a baby dead in a dumpster.)

As for the rest of it, I’m against sex before marriage, but a lot of kids think it’s ok. Our health classes encourage abstinence, but tell kids that if they’re going to do it, this is how to do it safely. Unfortunately, I don’t have a clue what these silly people are thinking. As soon as we figure it out, it's possible to actually do something about it.

Ultimately, I encourage people (especially my younger siblings) to abstain from sex until they're ready to care for children/treat STDs/deal with other consequences of premarital sex. That would prevent many unwanted babies. Abortion would not be nearly as common. And we might even see fewer cases of child abuse. (Not all people who have unplanned kids abuse their kids, though. And some people who prepare in advance for children do abuse them. So. Yeah.)

The Baby Moses law (I live in Texas, by the way) beats the snot out of abortion (IMO) and abandoning those babies in Dumpsters (which does, sadly, happen here sometimes). It also beats having a mother who is not ready for a child, try to rear that kid. The law states that the person with the baby must physically hand that newborn to an authorized recipient - such as a hospital employee, or a firefighter. The mother cannot just drop the kid in the trash can outside of the hospital and walk away - that's still illegal (and, of course, a rotten thing to do to an innocent baby).

So: the baby is safe. People can place that kid in foster care or find adoptive parents. The mother does not have to worry about being charged with child abandonment...or trying to figure out how to rear a child she is not ready to rear.

As for consequences of one's actions: as far as I'm concerned, the baby's health and well-being are FAR more important than making sure that Baby's Mama feels bad for what she's done wrong. If it comes down to a choice between making sure that the baby is okay and making sure that Baby's Mama feels bad? I'll choose the baby every time.

Well, in my opinion, it is MUCHO better than leaving it in a dumpster for a dog to attack or for it to die in filth. I am at least glad that now there SHOULD be fewer sightings of babies in dumpsters....

And honestly, the baby moses law DOES have its advantages, and they all outweigh the disadvantages... Like say a mother who is living on welfare (another one of my petpeeves) goes to a party and gets her stupid *bottom* pregnant. She does not want the baby but can not afford an abortion. So she has the option of leaving the child at a firestation so that somebody say- an infertile couple may have children. And (I know this makes me sound greety and careless, but I'm NOT thank you very much) therefore for all of you who hate welfare, that is one less person you are paying for.

While I think that prevention is better than a cure (in this case, instructing girls about unprotected sex and encouraging adoption rather than random conception), I feel that if a woman has a baby that she can't care for, the humane and ethical thing to do would be to leave the baby with people who can take care of it. A baby is a living human being and can't simple be thrown away like a piece of trash.

One of the major problems with unprotected sex is that girls have very few options. They can give birth and take care of the child, give birth and abandon the child/give it to an adoption agency, or have an abortion, neither of which is an optimal situation. I feel that if we get rid of the necessity to throw babies away, repulsive as it is, through education, then we can finally cut down on the number of babies who are born to underage parents which would probably create higher levels of employment and wealth for everyone involved.

Knowledge, after all, is usually the way out of the dark.

Only a selected few even bother to listen to the useful advice that is out there today. When people get the urge and feel like doing whatever they want—they will. It may be due to people being easy on others or perhaps following the "live and let live" concept. This is common belief without proper instruction: "What feels good must be good." Children barely listen to their parents, why would they listen to a stranger? Unfortunately, many learn the hard way; some don't even learn at all whether it was hard on them or not. Perhaps instructing people every year or every 6 months from the end of middle school to the end of college may help a bit. But it shouldn't be limited to girls.


The major problem of unprotected sex is that it is unprotected.

---

I believe the Baby Moses law was more with rape in mind and not insomuch for those who actually were willing to have intercourse. In any rape case, the child deserves to live, and this is the best possible alternative for the victims. No questions asked or comments will help the victim ignore what has happened, and it'll be easier on them.

I believe that the baby moses law is a better alternitive to litteraly "disposing" of an unwanted child. ANd actually, last year (Every body has to take it this year) the boys had to take a sex ed class. And you know what? Last year I was in the 7th grade, AND WE HAD A GIRL PREGNANT!

But you are right in my opinion. The baby moses law is probably the best alternitive to the situation. You don't have to go through the hassle of the process of putting up a baby for adoption, somebody will take care of the baby, and the mother who isn't ready to take care of the baby does not have to worry about taking care of it, or the charges that come with leaving a defencless child in the dumpster. I just don't think it is right to leave a baby in such an unclean place. This law is actually one of the better laws texas has come up with