Watch a 1970s TV Show Portray a Parent Defend Locking Her Kids in Her Car

Sure, we all fume now when parents are caught locking their kids in their cars. The latest incident is a Washington, D.C. couple caught Tuesday leaving their their toddlers in a near-freezing car–while they attended a wine tasting. The D.C. couple pleaded not guilty, claiming they monitored their (unharmed) kids with an iPhone — and were filmed by ABC News on desperately sprinting from their court hearing into a cab to avoid reporters.

But there was a time when the ethics of leaving your kids in the car were actually a topic for debate.

Here’s how the 1970s TV show Emergency! portrayed a mother’s angry reaction to two firemen who “broke into her car and took her baby.”