Just when you think people can be any more stupid....

[werk]

I think it largely can be filed under lack of education and/or ignorance. They should be punished according to the local laws established in their area.

The running away part of it though...

 

[werk]

In once swoop you virtually eradicate unwanted pregnancies and a whole host of related issues.

I think it only does away with unplanned pregnancies, and does nothing other than promote promiscuity and STDs.

.02

 

[CarlZog]

This ranks up there with the stories I've heard of people in the faaaar north of my province, who would put a little gasoline on their childrens pillow, to ensure they would sleep soundly all night.

Are you making that up?

I mean booze, sure. But GASOLINE?!? On the pillow?!?

Carl

 

[Aeson]

I think it only does away with unplanned pregnancies, and does nothing other than promote promiscuity and STDs.

.02

Kind of the way some people saw the pill when it was introduced and the morning after pill now.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Just saw a story on the local DC news about an infant that was found dead in a storm drain. Apparently, a college girl that gave birth in her dorm bathroom, wrapped the baby in a plastic bag, and dumped it down the storm drain.

*shakes head*

It drives me crazy when young girls like that don't realize that there are people out there that would love to adopt that baby...

 

[billd91]

Just saw a story on the local DC news about an infant that was found dead in a storm drain. Apparently, a college girl that gave birth in her dorm bathroom, wrapped the baby in a plastic bag, and dumped it down the storm drain.

*shakes head*

It drives me crazy when young girls like that don't realize that there are people out there that would love to adopt that baby...

In many of these cases, the pregnancy has been concealed and the birth in secret. The real question we should be asking is: Why do these young women conceal their pregnancies? Is it because they're afraid of the consequences from friends and family if they do?
I agree that giving the baby up for adoption is a far better choice than abandoning it to die, but I don't know the factors or fears that went into her decision.

 

[Lhorgrim]

Let me start by saying that the infant's death is a tragedy, and that it breaks my heart to hear of it.
Several people on the thread have suggested punishment that would keep the people involved from having other children, and thus prevent a similar tragedy in the future. While I certainly understand the sentiment, and cheer for it on some level, it isn't going to stop these types of things from happening. Criminals and fools always seem to find a way to cause suffering.
That being said, I feel like people in the U.S. tend to forget some basic truths about our legal system (emphasis on NOT calling it a justice system). With extremely few exceptions, the U.S. legal system is designed to be reactive and either punitive or correctional depending on your point of view. The legal system isn't designed to prevent people from commiting crimes, it is designed to deal with people who have (or have not, in the case of the wrongfully accused) commited some crime.
While I have some reservations about how our legal sytem functions, I am glad that it is not designed to be pre-emptive in regards to crime. While some tragedies may be averted by such a system, personal freedom would certainly be lost.

Jay

 

[ForceUser]

Wishful thinking of mine: I wish some international law with the means to enforce it. It would be very effective against both overpopulation (and all the problems resulting from it) and human suffering. Simply put, all neurotic people, plus all those unable to take care of children in an appropriate manner, would be forbidden to have children. If they wanted to have some, they would first need to make a successful psychotherapy. After all, we require people to have a driving license to drive a car, but no parenting license should be required to sire children?

Ah, but who decides? And where do they draw the line? While gross negligence should be addressed, and the human population is growing exponentially (the doubling time for the world's population is roughly 12 years--ponder that for a moment), I would make the argument that suffering is part of the human condition. That's why religion exists--to help people cope with death and suffering.

 

[Jesus_marley]

the amount of alcohol involved here is so excessive that there is know way they could not see that they were harming their child, yet they continued to do so until the child died.

I agree fully here. The kid was so drunk that she couldn't walk... heck, she couldn't even sit up.
Totally irresponsible.

 

[Uzumaki]

I agree fully here. The kid was so drunk that she couldn't walk... heck, she couldn't even sit up.
Totally irresponsible.

...

That was a joke, right?

I say sterilize everyone and keep them that way. That way, once cloning advances far enough, we can keep tight control over the population. Or, we could screw cloning, sterilize everyone, and die out in a hundred years or so. Yeah, i like that plan.