Jane's feels terrible now. *(sad sad story)*

[AnimalCrackers]

Greed is the greatest single factor in every form and manner of suffering that exists in the world, including every kind of crime.

AMEN, SISTA!

Lol. I heartily agree with that statement.

As to your previous comment, Shimma, about the rape issue being far more worrisome, I agree. Just the thought gives Jane not only the heebies, but the jeebies as well. However, in this instance, considering the time elapsed since said occurrence (Judy said she was 5 months along), and the fact that Judy had obviously decided to keep the child, whether for religious or personal reasons, Jane did not feel entirely comfortable rehashing a subject that Judy was quite possibly already starting to cope with.

I cannot understand, in a situation such as this, when Judy's father split, why it is fair that the cost of her treatment should suddenly fall upon her shoulders when she hit the age of majority. I've known of similar instances to this, where a parent will let their mistakes (i.e. lawsuits/debts/etc) fall into their child's hands when they turn 18. If it is not the child's fault, shouldn't our laws protect the rights of the child? I realise they just want to get paid, but why not track down the adult responsible, rather than trying to collect from a teenager who has yet to make a life for themselves?

 

[ShimmaPuff]

...I cannot understand, in a situation such as this, when Judy's father split, why it is fair that the cost of her treatment should suddenly fall upon her shoulders when she hit the age of majority. I've known of similar instances to this, where a parent will let their mistakes (i.e. lawsuits/debts/etc) fall into their child's hands when they turn 18. If it is not the child's fault, shouldn't our laws protect the rights of the child? I realise they just want to get paid, but why not track down the adult responsible, rather than trying to collect from a teenager who has yet to make a life for themselves?

I think that the reason the law works well for business is that in most cases, parents will continue to help their kids with things like that even after they turn 18, and in the case of a parent who has "split," the child, now legally an adult, hasn't split, so depending on the size of the debt and the size of the legal budget of the company, they can go to court and obtain a judgment against any assets she might have, like a home or a car, or if she had a job, her salary, and depending on the vigilance of the particular jurisdiction, the salary from any job she might get in the future.

For a few thousand dollars, the orthodontist might not want to pay a lawyer to take it to court and get a judgment that would be essentially worthless, and is likely to continue being worthless, since Judy's employment prospects as a teenaged single mom are not really that great, so his only chance of obtaining some measure of satisfaction will be the knowledge that she is suffering.