From Radley Balko’s personal site* comes this Washington Post feature piece on infant hyperthermia, or the phenomenon of parents absent-mindedly leaving their babies in car seats, which leads to the infant’s death. Fair warning: I could barely finish this piece. It’s that somber and unhesitating in its look at a phenomenon that can only be described by words like “tragic” and “soul-rending”. It’s wonderfully written (Gene Weingarten better win some national awards for this piece, and the Post has been superb in their feature-length stories in 2009), and I encourage anyone who might be interested to give it a look: it’s the kind of story that periodicals/newspapers are made for.
Some thoughts/questions:
1. I know I talked about this last week, but this piece is fascinating from a pro-life/abortion debate perspective: while I find it disturbing that a VA prosecutor charged a parent with manslaughter for leaving his kid in a car, I have this question: if you are going to prosecute for the accidental death of a parent who loved his kid dearly, how can you differentiate between that and a third-term abortion? I mean, at least the first parent wanted his kid, right?
Also: is this really the best use of a district attorney’s office? Is this upholding the laws of Virginia, or is this merely a case where the law enforcement is acting less like Protectors of the Republic and more like the Police to Prevent Vice and Promote Virtue?
2. This story reminded me that, no matter how far we might advance as a society, no amount of technology can prevent some tragedies. Perhaps it is because we are so insulated from death and error that such stories are so shocking, but we mustn't let ourselves think we need all kinds of new oversight to prevent such stories from happening again. As trite and insensitive as it is, the saying remains: crap happens.
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*Seriously, I link to Radley’s pages many, many times a week. I try and only post to ones that I can add value to (through own comments and perspective), but I still feel guilty for mooching so much off him. Please, please, please go to his site regularly. He puts more effort into his own reporting and has such a razor insight into policy and its effects that you are missing one of the stars of internet newsmaking if you miss his stuff. Check him out. Regularly. Please.
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