Baby Savers under fire amid right to safely abandon infants

Door of Hope and other organisations are fighting for the right to legally accept unwanted babies who are placed in the Hole in the Wall. The use of the emergency “baby savers” – a safe box or cradle in which abandoned newborn babies are placed – is under the judicial spotlight this week, with the government claiming organisations that accept babies in this manner are acting illegally and that it is an offence under the Children’s Act. The Department of Social Development (DSD) in Gauteng’s stance is that “baby savers” are illegal and have threatened to close organisations that use these aids.

These safe boxes are usually built into the outside wall of an organisation and triggeran alarm once a baby is placed inside. This allows the baby to be immediately removed and taken to safety. Baby Savers South Africa NPO and Door of Hope Children’s Mission NPO turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, for an order allowing them to continue using these“baby savers”and to exclude providers of baby saver boxes from accomplice liability for the offence of abandonment.

The Centre for Human Rights (CHR), represented by Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), has joined the proceedings as a friend of the court. They argue that the law must draw a clear distinction between unsafe abandonment and the relinquishment (safe placement) of infants.