As the Portfolio Committee on Social Development continues with the nationwide public consultations on legalising the “safe relinquishment” of unwanted babies, some local NGOs have urged for accountability not to be wavered in seeking to address the problem.
The committee has met communities in Soshanguve to solicit their input on the draft Children’s Amendment Bill, which seeks to introduce improvements to the child care and child protection legal systems.
The Pretoria News reports that it said one of the proposals raised in Soshanguve was the possibility of enacting laws to allow parents of unwanted babies to drop their babies at safe places, such as hospitals, police stations or fire stations without risking prosecution. They added that the backers of this suggestion argued that the move could see a decline in the number of abandoned babies who die after being dumped in dustbins and bushes.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
KZN increase in abandoned babies blamed on poorly functioning health system
Gauteng Health MEC: 143 babies abandoned at Gauteng hospitals in 2020
SA’s criminalising of infant abandonment has been ‘a failure’