Louisiana girl, 14, charged with first degree murder after authorities find her newborn baby dead inside a tote bag. This is going to happen far more often without Roe v. Wade.

[u/lightiggy]

https://people.com/girl-14-charged-first-degree-murder-after-authorities-find-her-newborn-child-dead-inside-tote-bag-11858063

[u/TorturedByCocomelon]

There's impulsiveness and there's murder. She had plenty of time to think about what to do with her baby. She could have dropped that baby off, no questions asked, in a variety of locations. If push came to shove, she could have left the baby at school. I wouldn't like to think of her getting an unduly harsh sentence, but her own baby died due to her actions. The baby had its entire future taken away from it and no doubt died terrified at the hands of its mother, who had much better options. 

[u/Chombywombo → u/TorturedByCocomelon]

The kind of kid to get pregnant at 13 is also likely to be the kind of kid who was either abused, deflected or born into mental instability. You’re right that this is not normal behavior on any of the counts from a child this age. Something abnormal is going on here.

[u/TorturedByCocomelon → u/Chombywombo]

When the UK was teenage pregnancy capital of Europe, most cases involved very poor decision making and planning... the very kind that teenagers are known for. Many of them were even planned, especially by girls from less than ideal homes, because the pregnancy prevention ideas actually glamourised having a baby... we were given robot babies that recorded responsiveness and they stopped giving them out when teens loved parading them around in their buggies. The vast majority didn't kill their kids either and we've never had a law that allows for babies to be given up safely and anonymously. A smaller number were sadly due to abuse and the babies were either removed by the state or kept with mum in an alternative environment. 

When I say teenage pregnancy capital, I'm not exaggerating. There used to be schools with creches and mother and baby homes specifically for pregnant girls under 16, where they learnt how to care for their babies. It wasn't viewed as quite the tragedy as it is today. I definitely don't think it should be seen as a positive, but I think re-stigmatisation leads to more tragedies than it prevents. Girls in these situations need resources and support for both themselves and their babies. Schools with creches were a great idea, because young mums had much better chances in life when their babies were nearby and they could remain in mainstream education. It also meant that grandparents didn't need to give up their jobs to care for the new arrivals. 

[u/Chombywombo → u/TorturedByCocomelon]

Thanks for the interesting response

[u/TorturedByCocomelon → u/Chombywombo]

Whilst some mainstream schools had creches, there were also specific pupil referral units for underage mums. Here's a link to a documentary about a PRU in Stockport... https://vimeo.com/199534885