“They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood” (Ps. 106: 37-38).
This seems to be the season for dead babies. That is not intended as a callous remark, merely a sad observation.
• A 15 month old Georgia baby named Emily somehow crawled 300 yards from her home through woods to the edge of a nearby highway [1]. Thankfully, she was rescued in time by a passing motorist. Although the baby had fallen down an embankment, she was unharmed.
• Another Georgia baby, 22 month old, Cooper, was left by his father for 7 hours to die in a hot car. A troubling search was conducted on the family computer re: how long it would take for an animal to die in similar circumstances. The father is said to have gone out to the car at lunch without assisting the child [1A].
• Anna Marie was not lucky either. The 9 month old was left for nearly 4 hours by her father in the back of his truck [2]. The baby’s core temperature was 109 degrees when examined by Florida emergency personnel. She was long dead by that point.
• In Iowa, a 4 month old boy named Gabriel was found dead after having been left for an hour with his 17 y.o. father [3]. The baby had been adopted but returned to his 16 y.o. birth mother, at her request.
Last year, 44 babies died of heatstroke. So far, 12 have died this year. A parent or guardian is charged with neglect in about half such cases.
Most of us find events like this shocking. But these numbers do not begin to scratch the surface. Some 1600 children will die from abuse in the USA this year [4]. Another million will be denied life while still in the womb [5].
How is it we cannot manage to take better care of our children? Continue reading
ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse 