China expands abandoned baby hatch scheme for unwanted, disabled infants

The Chinese authorities are reportedly expanding the number of baby hatches by setting up atleast two dozen of them across the country for parents to safely abandon their unwanted toddlers.

Temporary shelters for babies have an incubator, a delayed alarm device, an air conditioner and a child-size bed and the infants can be abandoned anonymously by parents by just placing them in the shelter and pressing an alarm button.

The setting up of temporary baby hatches has sparked off a debate surrounding the actual welfare of infants and the need to have a better welfare system in order to protect the rights of children with illnesses and disabilities, the China Daily reported.

A total of 181 abandoned children were received by the Shijiazhuang social welfare institution since temporary shelter for babies was set up in June 2011.