What If Enabling Was a Crime?

Cherie Burbach — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:00:24 +0000

Just caught the news report that Howard Stern, attorney and friend to Anna Nicole Smith, was brought up on charges that he helped give her prescription drugs. Basically, prosecutors said, he enabled her.

Stern is charged, of course, with being part of a ring of conspiracy. He’s suspected of helping Anna Nicole become more and more addicted to drugs so that he could possibly get her money. But what if Anna Nicole was just a regular girl?

I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if enabling became a crime all around. Not just for famous people. Not just for the wealthy, but for everyday folks where drugs and alcohol cause the breakdown of their family.

What if all the mothers out there who not only support their husband’s drinking but become a part of the abuse they direct toward their children received the same fate as Howard Stern? What if the fathers of the world could actually be charged with covering up behavior when the mother of their children went on tirades so big that broken dishes and scared children were the only thing left standing at the end?