Politics, Current Events & Hot Button Issues

[S0Exciited]

Who would've thought this was legal?

"An unfit  Florida mother ,who abandoned her four  children and left them unsupervised  at a Howard Johnson’s Motel in Winter Haven so that she could go out and party…has been banned from having anymore babies.

The kids were found alone in the motel room just after midnight on October 30th.

When the Police arrived… the door of the room slightly open. Three other children asleep. The room was in complete disarray with trash, clothes and food crumbs all over the floor.  Lightseyreturned at around 3:00 a.m.

The children ranged between the ages 1, 3, 7 and 11.

Two of the children have medical issues, one who suffers from cerebral palsy and epilepsy and requires constant care on a regular basis.

Kimberly Lightsey, 30, was charged with Child Neglect and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor.  She appeared beforeCircuit Judge Ernest Jones Jr in Bartow, Florida who offered  the  plea deal as a condition of her probation.

In order to avoid a five year jail sentence… Lightsey agreed not to have any more children for the next 13 years.  She was also placed under house arrest for two years and ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service.

Lightsey was  already serving four years of probation after pleading no contest to child abuse. She had been charged with hitting her six-year-old son in the face with a belt in 2009."

Wait...there's more...

" Judge orders deadbeat dad to stop having kids until he pays support. Corey Curtis really likes having kids. He’s quite good at it, actually. Taking care of them? Not so much. The prolific Wisconsin man has fathered nine children with six different women,  but he’s been much less eager when it comes to other parental obligations — such as supporting them. Curtis has a history of failing pay child support, so one fed-up judge neutered the deadbeat dad. As a condition of his probation (for jumping bail and failing to pay child support), Judge Tim Boyle banned Curtis from having more children until he pays the $90,000 in back child support he owes."

A big part of me can't help but tthat just justice has been served. People who choose not to take care of the children they already have should not have any. The people who suffer most from deadbeat parents are the kids. But on the other hand...isn't it everyone's right to procreate? What do you think?

[Nyctimene]

If it was a right to procreate though, children would never be removed from their parents (such as by CPS). For instance look at civil rights. Blacks have the right to vote now all the time and that right can NEVER be taken away. When something is a 'right' then it can never be altered or removed. So by allowing the government to legally remove children, having children becomes more of a privilege than a 'right'.

And privileges can be taken away. And should be when someone misbehaves.

[flamingoccm]

The way I see it--

This women cannot take care of the children she has. In fact, it would seem that she chooses not to. Same with the "deadbeat dad" who loves having kids (read: f.ucking) but owes $90K in child support. Why should others be forced to pay for those people's children just because they choose not to?  If you want to have children, you have an obligation to pay for them and support them. If you cannot do that, I don't think you should have children. 

[roselove445]

See when i look at if from a is it legal standpoint i say no its not legal. but when i look at it from a is it right i say yes the jugde did the absolute right thing. if a judge can by any means stop there from being one more orphan or one more abused child then i think they should be allowed to bend the rules a little. i mean its not like they completely took away their power to have children they just said they couldnt have children for a certain amount of time. if these people grow up a little and have some responsiblity then when the time comes they can settle down and have a family. but until then they have some lessons to learn about being responsible

alex

[stayclassy]

I think they shouldn't have been allowed to have children before they had children.

[Nyctimene]

@roselove,

That's the thing. The ball is (and always has been) completely in these people's court. They CHOSE to act in this way and now there's consequences. But they can also CHOOSE to get a job, stop being idiots and do the right thing.

He can start paying some child support and once he starts paying the Judges are much more likely to make him a deal about the back child support than if he whines about it now when he's NOT paying. So it's very likely if he starts paying that he will NOT have to pay back the $90K.

If they start acting like mature adults, they'll get their privileges/rights back including the right to have more kids since they'll be taking care of the kids they have properly. But as long as they CHOOSE to act like children, the law will treat them like children in many respects.

Choice is theirs.