A baby hatch, set up by Shijiazhuang Social Welfare Institution in Hebei Province last June, has attracted widespread criticism with many arguing that it could encourage irresponsible parents to abandon their babies, China Youth Daily reported.

The facility, called "Babies' Safe Island," is a small cabin equipped with an incubator and ventilation and painted with bright colors. Intended to allow parents to drop off unwanted infants, the hatch is checked by patrol every two hours.

The institution's director Han Jinhong said it was inspired by similar practices in Germany, Italy, Czech and Russia.

As of the end of January, the facility had received 26 abandoned babies, of whom 18 survived. Most of the children were born with serious deficiencies, some are suspected to be born out of wedlock.

The hatch drew skepticism from its first day. Its initial objections were from the institution staff, who complained that the facility would not only directly increase their workloads and operation risks but also lead to rise in the number of abandoned infants.

Others in the public agreed. Some said that it is against the law to throw away babies and a hatch would "encourage irresponsible people to commit irresponsible deeds."

Han held a different opinion. "Abandoned babies are not inevitable even in developed countries. It is not possible that a hatch could lead to the increase in the number of irresponsible parents," Han said. "Baby abandonment is an issue that needs collaborative efforts of social security departments and judicial agencies to solve. Charity organizations cannot change the poverty in the society. What we can do is let your children live a life with dignity after you abandon them."

(China.org.cn March 1, 2012)

據《中國青年報》報道，由河北省石家莊市社會福利院去年6月份建立起來的棄嬰保護倉引發廣泛批評，許多人稱，這會鼓勵不負責任的父母拋棄嬰兒。

該設施是一個小屋，名為“嬰兒安全島”，安置了保溫箱、排氣扇，還涂有色彩鮮艷的漆。為方便父母留下遺棄的嬰兒，值班人員每兩小時查看一次保護倉。

福利院院長韓金紅稱，這是受了德國、意大利、捷克、俄羅斯相似做法的啟發而建的。

到1月底，該設施接收了26名棄嬰，其中18名存活下來。許多兒童生來便有嚴重缺陷，一些可能是婚外兒。

自從第一天起，保護倉便沒能逃脫質疑。最先的反對意見來自福利院職工。他們抱怨道，該設施不但會直接增加他們的工作負擔、運作風險，還會導致棄嬰數量的增加。

社會上的一些人贊同。有人說，拋棄嬰兒是違法的，保護倉“鼓勵了不負責任的人做不負責任的事”。

韓金紅持不同的意見。韓金紅說：“發達國家也避免不了棄嬰。不會說多一個安全島，不良父母就增加了。棄嬰行為需要社會保障部門和司法機關共同解決。福利機構沒法改變社會貧困，我們能做的就是如果你遺棄了，我們讓你的孩子活得有尊嚴。”