Posted on 12/10/2001 9:50:53 AM PST by Christian B
By Writer Published: Dec 10, 2001 ADEL, Iowa (AP) - A mother who testified she was distracted and running late for work when she left her 7-month-old daughter in her minivan was found innocent Monday in the girl's death.
Engholm, 35, an administrator at Dallas County Hospital, testified at her trial that she routinely took Clare to a baby sitter and then took her 3-year-old son, Eric, to a day care center.
On that day, she was running late and dropped her son off first. She then drove to the hospital and went to work, forgetting that her daughter was still in the minivan. She said she was preoccupied with some meetings coming up at work.
Engholm said she felt as though she had been judge harshly by public opinion. "There's probably nothing I can say to those people, but it's probably a small segment of people," she said. "Tragedies happen every day. We're all human, we're all fallible. This could have happened to anyone."
Somehow one hopes that one's children would be a high enough priority to remember not to forget under all but the most extraordinary circumstances (like getting knocked unconscious by a mugger). Meetings were the only excuse? She must have had a wonderful lawyer.
Engholm, you stupid, careless, worthless, village idiot piece of crap... Never in a million f*cking years would anything remotely this moronic, this obtuse, this toaster-oven-IQ ever happen to me, or to anybody I know.
Nice try, but no cigar.
This is the telling part. If it were me - I can't imagine how it could be, but let's pretend - nobody could judge me as harshly as I judged myself. There wouldn't be language enough for my self loathing. I would hate me to my grave. The only thing keeping me from stepping in front of a bus would be the existence of my other child, and I'd still think long and hard about it.
I think it's called "late-term" abortion, and many "people" think there is nothing wrong with it.
I mean, why stop at birth minus 1 day? That's kind-of splitting hairs, and seems quite oppressive to working mothers.
Maybe she thought about having an abortion earlier, then tried to stick it out, but it became too much for her to handle, what with her carreer and all. Oh, you just don't understand the pressures of a modern working mother.
Perhaps if "some people" didn't make her feel so guilty about getting an abortion at a few months before birth, she wouldn't have to resort to this gruesome vehicular late-term abortion procedure.
It is the fault of all those pro-lifers, really.
That's a great concept. Kind of like forgetting to remember. If it wasn't for that "forgetting" everyone would remember better.
I am not a mother but I cannot imagine forgetting I had a child in my back seat. I hope nobody ever asks this woman to pick up a friend. That is alarming to me and the fact that she is not punished goes again to our society's lack of ability to judge morality and lack of respect for human life. (And please, some of you, don't make this into an abortion issue. It is quite bad enough all by itself.)
This woman only had TWO children to keep track of. Sorry, but this woman is an idiot, and a dangerous idiot at that.
Some people will get trapped into that lifestyle. But more and more, people are choosing it. It isn't a good idea.
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