Jul 26, 2008

The Baby Moses Law: Right Or Wrong?

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The Baby Moses Law: Right Or Wrong?

Mermaid711
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?

 

 

 


Reply

truefusion
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.

QUOTE(Mermaid711 @ Aug 19 2007, 04:18 PM) *
[1]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.[/1]

... [2]What happened to the mentality of "A baby isnt a mistake, it is a happy supprise"? [3]What happened to the days of people being able to control their urges? [4]Why can't girls realize how stupid that the choises are that they are making? [5]What is this world coming to? [6]It is... OKAY?!?!?! to leave a helpless child in a public facility?

[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. tongue.gif
[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.

 

 

 


Reply

Midnight Blue
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.

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FolkRockFan
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.

Reply

Mermaid711
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.

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biscuitrat
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.

Reply

truefusion
QUOTE(biscuitrat @ Aug 20 2007, 01:07 AM) *
(in this case, instructing girls about unprotected sex and encouraging adoption rather than random conception)

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.

QUOTE(biscuitrat @ Aug 20 2007, 01:07 AM) *
One of the major problems with unprotected sex is that girls have very few options.

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.

Reply

Mermaid711
QUOTE(truefusion @ Aug 20 2007, 08:34 AM) *
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 biggrin.gif

Reply

velma
Hello,

This is a good move mace to prevent infanticide. But like everything else it has its pros and cons for it will be a really practical and safe option for a mother to give up her child if she cannot take care of it. Rape victims and teen mothers are not the only one who can benefit from these.

There are women who are victims of domestic violence who can hopefully give up their child to save it from abusive members. But a relative of the mother can always bring up the issue whether she is a rape victim, abused member, widow/widower etc. This can cause trouble for every one including the baby sad.gif Or like others mentioned, it becomes a casual dumping place for careless girls.

But I find it a better alternative than throwing the kid in a dumpster. We do not have a right to kill an innocent life without legitimate and practical reasons.

Reply

Mermaid711
Well, like i said, it beats dumpsters and abortion by a long shot. I don't really want to start the whole abortion debate either, but i feel the only time an abortion is okay is when both the baby AND the mother's life is being threatened, I.E. a falopian pregnancy, or a bursted blood vessel... you name it.

And in fact, it IS a good thing for rape victums, in my opinion.

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sheepdog
Interesting, I didn't know there even was such a thing as a baby moses law. It sounds like a good thing to me, with all the babies being dropped of in dumpsters, or being raised in situations that are not fit to raise a child in.

I doubt if it in any way encourages teenages to be any more promisquious then they allready are, how many do you think stop and say, well, sure, lets have sex, I can always drop off the baby at the fire station if I get knocked up??? I really don't think that they think at all. Raging teenage hormones are a mighty force to contend with.

I also don't think that droping off a baby lets the girl escape with out punishment for her actions. 9 months of pregnance is no walk in the park, and then there is the lifetime of wondering what happened to your baby...... and beating yourself up for all the stupid mistakes you made in your life.

Reply

TikiPrincess
QUOTE(truefusion @ Aug 22 2007, 05:47 PM) *
[1]I live in the states as well, but i don't care about laws that prevent justice.
[2]This is where blood drives and [3 (my response to it)] would help.
[2:2]This is one of the reasons why i took up the assumption that the interest in the child's life is not short lived, because i know that child has little to no hope in receiving justice after death (if not found alive) in this life.
[3]I did not say to compare and contrast the child with their parent(s).

While I do not always agree with law and I admit that the justice system is flawed, I would think it a violation of my rights for the government to be tracking its citizens' DNA. We don't even have everyone's fingerprints in the database, we don't need to be tracking DNA. That kind of information can so easily be misused. I also think that there aren't enough people donating blood that we don't need to scare away more potential donors by asking the Red Cross (btw a private company not affiliated with the government) or other blood drive operators to test for DNA. Their services and resources are much better spent doing what the organization intended to do. As for your third point, I'm sorry, I misread your original post. However, not all babies are born in hospitals and most hospitals are overworked and understaffed as it is. And my response to your second point would suffice for this as well. We don't need to scare away women giving birth by the threat of reporting them to the police. The whole point of this law is that she is allowed to give up her baby, no questions asked. You have no idea what their thought process has or hasn't been or the anguish that she may or may not have experienced. It is not our place to judge, only to give her the compassion she needs.
QUOTE(truefusion @ Aug 22 2007, 05:47 PM) *
[1]I beg to differ

Not everyone believes in a soul, and there are some who believe it exists, but are not concerned with it. There are a multitude of beliefs in this world and many of them differ from yours.
QUOTE(truefusion @ Aug 22 2007, 05:47 PM) *
[1]The only difference i see is that one living being is inside an enclosed area and the other living being is outside that area. In the end, they're both a living being. This decision and law, of which i already knew of, does not have a good excuse.
[2]You can't save without making some kind of judgment.

The debate on abortion is on another thread, but that is neither here nor there. Whether you agree with the law or not, the law is still in effect and abortion is an acceptable practice in the eyes of the law. Anything else is between each person and his/her god or gods. That being said, I will not discuss theology with you because I choose to honor and respect the beliefs of others. I have spent too many years exploring my own beliefs and coming to terms with the religion I was raised to believe to disrespect someone else's.
QUOTE(truefusion @ Aug 22 2007, 05:47 PM) *
[1]Wait, what doesn't? You've lost me here... And context doesn't help.
[2]Yeah, your friends were lucky from their experience, and you provide their story which proves the first part of my statement. For everyone needs a reason to do something whether or not their intentions were pure.

For clarity's sake:
QUOTE(truefusion @ Aug 22 2007, 01:27 PM) *
Either these people are rich or are "rich" now.

The rich that you speak of will not give families the financial support that's necessary to raise children. They're costly little beasts tongue.gif Honestly, though, the adoption process is flawed as is the legal system; however, it would take a lot of money to cut bureaucracy and make the necessary changes to make them both efficient and effective. But some of the more deserving parents simply cannot afford to go through the process financially while someone like Angelina Jolie and Madonna can simply pick up a child from some third-world country. The joys and pains of parenting shouldn't be reserved for the rich who can afford to have children.
QUOTE(truefusion @ Aug 22 2007, 05:47 PM) *
[1]Sorry. I didn't mean to imply that it was limited to T.V. alone. I just mentioned what i thought was widely used or, to be more precise, what i have found to be most effective (but this is limited to my observation).
[2]Unfortunately, the ones that are willing to cause a change for the good have no power, and if they did, they may become corrupt or taken out of power.

IMO, advertising and music is much more pervasive than TV perhaps because, like you, I rarely watch it. Advertisements are much harder to escape and must encapsulate an entire message in a single image for print or 30 seconds of air time radio, tv, etc. Unfortunately, money makes the world go round, we cannot exist as a society without placing economic value on things, whether it's beads or coins or cattle. Appealing to someone's moral sensibility won't sell nearly as much as appealing to their base desires. Kudos to those who can rise above it, but for the rest of us... we are only human.

@Mermaid - As much as I am grateful and appreciative of your support, I urge you to make your own informed decision on the matter and believe what your heart tells you. I do not claim to be right. I only state what I believe to be right for myself, and I have spent much time discovering my beliefs and choosing the path that I want to live. Perhaps that will change as I grow and learn more, only time will tell. But truefusion has many good points that I choose not to agree with because of my own experiences and filters from my knowledge base. Be a free thinker and believe what your heart believes.

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velma
Hello,

<<<<<OFF TOPIC>>>>>>

This topic turned out to be a good one. Mermaid I would appreciate it if you would write the points written by Tiki that you think were better than truefusion's smile.gif So that it is easier for members to follow the debate.

Thanks for understanding

I honestly thought that both of them have a good debate though. They brought out the pro's and cons of the idea of handing a baby to a fire station

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Mermaid711
Wow ohmy.gif I didn't mean to start a fight tongue.gif

Just kidding.

Honestly, I must agree with tiki. Sorry truefusion. But tiki is right.

Reply

truefusion
QUOTE(TikiPrincess @ Aug 22 2007, 07:34 PM) *
[1]I'm not sure where you live, but here in America, it's illegal to take a sample of DNA without consent unless it's from a crime scene. [2]Not everyone can afford to go to the doctor for check-ups, [2:2]nor do labs code DNA for routine blood samples. [3]And have you honestly seen a baby after it's born? Children sometimes look nothing like their parents. My friend's baby was pale skinned when she was born, but my friend and her boyfriend are black. The baby didn't start getting her skin tone until a few weeks after being born.

[1]I live in the states as well, but i don't care about laws that prevent justice.
[2]This is where blood drives and [3 (my response to it)] would help.
[2:2]This is one of the reasons why i took up the assumption that the interest in the child's life is not short lived, because i know that child has little to no hope in receiving justice after death (if not found alive) in this life.
[3]I did not say to compare and contrast the child with their parent(s).

QUOTE(TikiPrincess @ Aug 22 2007, 07:34 PM) *
[1]I'm guessing that the kind of woman who could do this isn't concerned about her soul. [...] [2]For a woman to "dispose" of a baby in a trash can or down a toilet means that she was desperate and couldn't afford the means to have an abortion or was too afraid of what would happen if someone found out. [3]Some women don't have the fortitude to withstand the judgment of narrow-minded people.

[1]I beg to differ: [2].
[3]Then the Baby Moses Law would be just in this case, for it asks no questions and makes no comments.

QUOTE(TikiPrincess @ Aug 22 2007, 07:34 PM) *
[1]According to the decision of Roe v. Wade, abortion is legal in the United States. Aborting a fetus or embryo is considered an acceptable practice since it cannot exist outside the mother's uterus. A baby is a living, breathing being that can exist without the mother's support by means of formula and care from someone else. In the eyes of the law, these two things are different. [2]Anything else is between the woman and her god or gods, and it is not our place to pass judgment.

[1]The only difference i see is that one living being is inside an enclosed area and the other living being is outside that area. In the end, they're both a living being. This decision and law, of which i already knew of, does not have a good excuse.
[2]You can't save without making some kind of judgment.

QUOTE(TikiPrincess @ Aug 22 2007, 07:34 PM) *
[1]That doesn't put food on the table or a roof over their heads or clothes on their backs. [2]If you have not been through the process or been with someone going through it, you can't know how frustratingly painful it is and how tempting it is to just shuck the whole thing. My friends were lucky enough to have one child naturally after many, many attempts, but after the wife miscarried for the fourth time after their little girl was born, she couldn't take the heartache anymore, so they looked into adoption. They were almost awarded their child, but at the last minute, the mother changed her mind. It was like having the miscarriage all over again.

[1]Wait, what doesn't? You've lost me here... And context doesn't help.
[2]Yeah, your friends were lucky from their experience, and you provide their story which proves the first part of my statement. For everyone needs a reason to do something whether or not their intentions were pure.

QUOTE(TikiPrincess @ Aug 22 2007, 07:34 PM) *
[1]The media isn't restricted to TV. It's in books, magazines, movies, and advertisements. [2]Women are told to act and dress a certain way and men are told to treat women a certain way. I fully believe that if women were not so objectified, then they would be cherished and respected and we would have less cases of rape, less underage sex as girls try to secure the affection of a boy because that's what they've been told gives them worth, and a much more happy society. Unfortunately, sex sells and since men aren't willing to objectify themselves and women have been conditioned since before time began, then our sex must suffer.

[1]Sorry. I didn't mean to imply that it was limited to T.V. alone. I just mentioned what i thought was widely used or, to be more precise, what i have found to be most effective (but this is limited to my observation).
[2]Unfortunately, the ones that are willing to cause a change for the good have no power, and if they did, they may become corrupt or taken out of power.

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