#FirstThingsFirst: Social Development says parents who use baby boxes are committing a crime.
Loading player...
Is leaving a newborn in a “baby saving box” an act of unlawful abandonment or a desperate expression of care? That is the difficult question now before the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, where the legality of these so-called baby boxes is being
tested against South Africa’s Children’s Act. The Minister of Social Development argues that placing infants in such boxes amounts to criminal abandonment, while child rights organisations insist the law fails to offer a safe, no-fault alternative for
mothers in crisis. With thousands of unsafe abandonments recorded annually and hundreds of lives reportedly saved, the court must weigh law, survival, and conscience.
QUESTION: Is abandoning a baby in a safe box a crime or
an act of love?
tested against South Africa’s Children’s Act. The Minister of Social Development argues that placing infants in such boxes amounts to criminal abandonment, while child rights organisations insist the law fails to offer a safe, no-fault alternative for
mothers in crisis. With thousands of unsafe abandonments recorded annually and hundreds of lives reportedly saved, the court must weigh law, survival, and conscience.
QUESTION: Is abandoning a baby in a safe box a crime or
an act of love?
