Holy Moses, What Are They Smoking?
Here, as in many places, we have a Moses Law. This law allows people to leave a baby up to a certain age, in a designated place without fear of being charged with abandoning it. This is of course designed to keep babies out of dumpsters.
The other night, someone in our City by the Sea, a baby was found in a designated drop zone.
Now the Police want our help in locating the mother. Seems she did not leave the baby during the proper hours.
We Throw Frisbees?
I’ve seen a lot of Baby Moses drop site signs. Never once have I seen hours of operation listed. Let’s try and focus on the fact that we didn’t find the baby in a dumpster.
Now, had the baby been found dead, I would understand possibly charging someone, but seriously, the baby was alive, in a designated drop zone. What concerns me is that the baby had drugs in his system. Very obviously a crime and not a good idea, but if we go after people who chronically make bad decisions, doing drugs while in labor being one of them, is that going to keep more babies out of dumpsters in the future?
No.
So, there will be no help from me locating this woman or any other who utilizes the Baby Moses Law. Not if they leave the baby in the wrong place. Not if they leave it in the right place at the wrong time. Not if the baby is as high as a kite. This law, in this case, did what it was intended to do. Gave the mother a safe place to leave her child without fear of prosecution, and dare we say persecution. It kept this baby out of a dumpster.
I think we can all agree that this was a good thing.
October 8th, 2009 at 5:39 am
Those laws were created to save lives. However, that doesn’t mean that our “polite society” finds it tasteful. Most of us are so aghast at the believe that someone wouldn’t want her baby that we practically deem that a crime in itself. So when someone doesn’t follow the letter of the law about leaving a baby, we want to punish that person. Of course, we really just want to punish her for not wanting the baby in the first place.
As a polite society, we have some work to do.
xox
[Reply]