Sanctuary calls for baby abandonment laws to change

WITH hopes that laws are changed so that a mother can abandon her baby in a safe place without being criminally charged, the Isiaiah 54 Children’s Sanctuary in Bluff is urging moms to use their baby saver.

Situated at 5 Vimy Road, just off Bluff Road, the saver is two minutes from the taxi stop at Makeweni and a mom can open the door, place her baby inside and close the door, triggering a silent alarm. The alarm will notify staff at the sanctuary of the arrival of their new bundle. Staff will fetch the baby and follow procedures to ensure the health and safety of the baby.

An disturbing increase in the number of babies abandoned by their mothers, with more than five babies dumped in the last two weeks, led the sanctuary’s Youandi Gilain to speak out about the lack of safe abandonment laws which she believes contributes to the sad fact that of the five dumped babies last week, only one had survived.

“In South Africa, two out of three babies who are unsafely abandoned die. Child abandonment in South Africa is high and it is on the rise due to Covid-19, the riots and the floods, more and more parents are unable to care for their little ones. Child support grants do not assist enough to raise a little one, even on a low budget. Help organisations do not have enough resources to assist and the system is not working to protect and help our most vulnerable, which are the babies. Currently, South Africa does not have safe abandonment laws, therefore leaving your baby safely at one of the baby savers, or at a hospital or somewhere safe, anonymously, is not legal,” Gilain said.

After fighting to get her voice heard so that the laws can be amended to allow safe abandonment, Gilain said she still feels strongly that allowing a birth parent to relinquish their baby as a safe area instead of unsafe abandonment, correct procedures can ensure the safety of the lives of children who are dumped.

“There is also a baby saver in Glenwood called Vikela Baby Saver at 121 Helen Joseph Road. We urge people to spread the word so that we can save more abandoned babies from death.

“The baby whose mother abandoned her in a bush last week had left a letter, indicating that our support systems had failed this mom and her baby. It’s easy to say that women should refrain from having sexual intercourse to avoid these types of issues, however, she claimed to have contacted local support systems such as social workers, but what if that system is continuously failing our vulnerable people? This mom and her little girl is proof how we are failing them all the time. I work on a daily basis with mothers like this mom. Most of the hospital staff do not care about about the mothers or their babies. They are told that they got pregnant, so they have to keep the baby, and are sent home with a bundle of joy they love but are unable to care for. The moms are also given the runaround and eventually give up the process of proper ways to address their difficulties,” said Gilain.

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Working with abandoned babies and children who have been abused has led Gilain to be exposed to the cracks in the systems which were meant to help women faced with unwanted pregnancies.

“Most of our government abortion clinics only take in a couple of women in a day and are judgmental. They often refuse the abortion as they force the women to first speak to their family. People working in these facilities need to understand that it is not about if they are for or against abortions. It is a legal option. Private abortion clinics are expensive, which results in many women choosing back street abortion clinics who are far cheaper, but way more dangerous, where babies are often not aborted even after the medication is taken.

“This results in birth defects, or the women become so sick that they have to be hospitalised as they do not stop bleeding. Sometimes, there are cases where women bleed to death. Our system is broken and a lot of people work within the system with a personal opinion that they want to force onto others. If people can change their mindsets, so many babies will be saved. We will continue to fight for safe abandonment laws,” Gilain added.