In March this year a ‘baby hatch’ which allowed the anonymous abandonment of babies in China had to close after only 6 weeks as the system had been overwhelmed. China’s ‘one baby’ policy along with poor medical care provision for sick children are contributing to the problem of abandoned children in China.
A harrowing article and video by China correspondent Lucy Watson on the ITV News website today tells the story of parents who are abandoning their sick and disabled children in ‘baby hatches’ that have been set up all over the country.
These hatches are there to assist parents to abandon their babies in a safe place, rather than on the street. Soon after a baby is dropped off at a baby hatch, a nurse from a nearby orphanage will pick the baby up and take it back to the orphanage, to be cared for at the expense of the state…read more