Nebraska Dad Who Abandoned Nine Children is Expecting Twins

by John Gill (Subscribe to John Gill's posts) Jul 1st 2009 2:00PM

Gary Staton dropped off his 9 children last September under Nebraska's Safe Haven law. He still feels it was the right decision. Photo: Jeff Beiermann, The World-Herald

Safe Haven laws have been passed in all 50 states since 1999, as a way "for mothers in crisis to relinquish their babies to designated locations and keep them protected and provided with medical care until a permanent home is found."

37-year-old Gary Staton abandoned his nine children in September 2008, relinquishing them to the custody of his home state of Nebraska -- protected as a parent by the state's Safe Haven law. Now Staton, is expecting twins with his new girlfriend, Gail.

Staton abruptly became a single parent to his nine kids when his wife, RebelJane, died of a brain aneurysm in February 2007, not long after the last child's birth. The children, who ranged in age from 1 to 17 years of age, were dropped off at a hospital in Omaha when Staton determined that he could no longer care for them. The law has since been amended to only include children up to 30 days old.

Staton's two oldest children now live in Omaha, where they are finishing high school. The remaining seven kids live with RebelJane's aunt, who is in the process of adopting them.

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