Here we go again:

Four dead babies found in Ocean City home.

The remains of four premature babies have been found hidden in garbage bags and a blanket at the home of the owner of a taxi company in Ocean City, Maryland, police said on Monday.

Christy Freeman, 37, has been charged with first- and second-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with the death of one of the babies. Further charges may follow, said Ocean City police spokesman Barry Neeb.

…At the apartment, police also found a garbage bag hidden in a trunk in Freeman’s bedroom. Inside were three smaller plastic bags, two of which contained the remains of two more infants, and a third contained what police said was a placenta.

The next day, the remains of a fourth infant were found in another garbage bag inside a Winnebago motor home parked in Freeman’s driveway, according to a police statement.

And if you’re a regular at the Blend, like clockwork, summer means more stories on children left to fry in cars. This AP report is interesting because it is not about any one incident this year, but the disparity in treatment of the person arrested for the act — the mother, father or caregiver.

An Associated Press analysis of more than 310 fatal incidents in the past 10 years found that prosecutions and penalties vary widely, depending in many cases on where the death occurred and who left the child to die – parent or caregiver, mother or father:

* Mothers are treated much more harshly than fathers. While mothers and fathers are charged and convicted at about the same rates, moms are 26 percent more likely to do time. And their median sentence is two years longer than the terms received by dads.

* Day care workers and other paid baby sitters are more likely than parents to be charged and convicted. But they are jailed less frequently than parents, and for less than half the time.

* Charges are filed in half of all cases — even when a child was left unintentionally.

In all, the AP analyzed 339 fatalities involving more than 350 responsible parties. July is by far the deadliest month, accounting for nearly a quarter of the total.

Also, the states where this happens most frequently are Texas (41 deaths), Florida (37), California (32), North Carolina (14), Arizona (14)  and Tennessee (13).

Of course, the fundamentalists are more concerned about whether gays can adopt or foster children, not whether all children are safe and cared for, regardless of the caregiver’s orientation.

Also see:
Kids and Cars: http://www.kidsandcars.org