The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry in Kumamoto has come up with a proposal according to which, they’ll build up baby hatch at a hospital in the city to accept abandoned newborns.
According to the plan, Jikei Hospital gonna be the first hospital to set up the nation’s first baby hatch.
Though the plan would not hold the same relevance in the distant future, stressed the ministry.
In case, it receives more applications, the ministry would give a re- think into the issue.
However, the idea has received a mixed reaction. Some people are happy with it since it could save lives that would otherwise be lost, while others condemned it saying it might encourage people to abandon newborns.
The ministry also discussed potential legal problems, such as whether the action of leaving a newborn at the baby hatch constitutes a violation of the Child Abuse Prevention Law, and whether hospital officials could face penalties under the Penal Code for assisting parents in abandoning their responsibility as guardians of the newborn.
