blackwatch, this is not the first time i've found myself thinking one of your posts is very smart :blushing:
i think a lot of the "she had such a precious baby, why couldn't she appreciate her, my child is the light of my life" rhetoric, i dunno, it even makes ME feel bad--like a bad mom, i mean--and i'm a pretty good mom, i think.
still, having a toddler, i can understand why someone would kill their own child. not that i believe i would ever do it, but i can certainly intellectually understand how someone who has zero interest in parenting, and gets really annoyed by a demanding kid (because kids are nothing if not demanding), could just SNAP.
and it's not like there's really any help for people in this situation. look at the nebraska safe haven law--that got taken away, but if you ask me the fact it was being so relentlessly used is an indication there is a DESPERATE need for it, and for people who want to "get rid" of a child to be able to do so. it could definitely prevent situations like what happened to little caylee. maybe casey wouldn't have taken advantage of a safe haven law, or maybe she would have, but lots of parents IMO would if they knew there would be no judgment, no questions asked, and kid will be safe and cared for by the state.
this whole issue of child murder/parents who don't want to parent always makes me wonder, are we really interested in protecting children (and i think safe haven laws and other programs that acknowledge sometimes parents just want to QUIT parenting DO protect kids) or enforcing how mothers are supposed to feel about kids? the fact that not many opportunities exist for women who feel overwhelmed to give their kids up--or even to get help so they can safely keep them--suggests we as a society don't think that decision should be available. but as long as it's not available, we're putting kids in danger.
MOO
I sooooo AGREE with everything you have said. Either we want to protect children or we don't. We require people to pass a test and get a license in order to drive, but anyone can become a parent - even if they don't want to, even if they have no means to support their child, even if it's because others want them to have a child they don't want. To me, we have a very serious problem. In Germany, just to get a dog, you have to take dog ownership classes, pass a test, prove you can afford vet visits and training and PROVE you can devote at least 1 full hour per day to the dog. All this before you even get the dog! Yet we Americans let people have children regardless of if it makes any sense whatsoever all in the name of personal freedom. And it is the children who are paying for this "freedom" with their lives and their mental health and physical well-being. Somehow, our society has got to come to the realization that the protection of children is foremost a responsibility of our society, even though we must sacrifice some personal freedom in order to do it.