Baby box

A baby box (베이비 박스/婴儿安全岛) or baby hatch is the place where parents may leave an unwanted baby anonymously to be found and cared for by someone. This kind of arrangement was common in mediaeval times and in the 18th and 19th centuries in Europe.

In Korea, there is only one baby box in Seoul. Since 2009, a baby hatch has been operated by a pastor of a Christian community in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. In the early March 2013 when an investigative TV program reported what's going on at the baby box, it made a nationwide sensation.

Key words
baby box, rights of the child, UNCRC, adoption process, adoptee

Arguments over Baby Box
Supporters say a baby box is better for babies than abandonment on the street. The baby box operator benevolently offers desperate mothers a safe way to get rid of their unwanted babies.

The critics say that baby boxes may be used by unscrupulous fathers or even controllers of prostitutes to put pressure on mothers to dispose of an unwanted baby.

According to the above-mentioned SBS investigative report, a newly revised law is regarded to urge unwed mothers to put their newborns in the baby box in Korea. It's the Special Cases to Adoption Act (입양특례법/入養特例法), which came into force on August 5, 2012, requires the birth registration applied by parents. Because unwed mothers want to avoid the birth registration mandated by the Act, they are abandoning their children. This is evidenced by the increase of children abandoned in the "baby box" since the enforcement of the Act in 2012.

As a matter of law, any record of the child’s birth on family registration documents is required. And the birth parent should have a seven-day consideration period. Later the adoptee may request his or her birth records so that he or she may search for family roots.

Legal Aspects
Legal problems with baby boxes regard to children's right to know their own identity and family roots, as guaranteed by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). But this presupposes their inherent right to life guaranteed by Article 6. Baby hatches also deprive the father of his right to find out what has happened to his child, though DNA testing of foundlings would seem to offer a way forward.


 * Article 6 (Survival and Development) of the UNCRC.
 * 1. States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life.
 * 2. States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.


 * Article 7 (Registration, Name, Nationality, Care)
 * 1. The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and. as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.
 * 2. States Parties shall ensure the implementation of these rights in accordance with their national law and their obligations under the relevant international instruments in this field, in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless.


 * Article 8 (Preservation of Identity)
 * 1. States Parties undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations as recognized by law without unlawful interference.
 * 2. Where a child is illegally deprived of some or all of the elements of his or her identity, States Parties shall provide appropriate assistance and protection, with a view to re-establishing speedily his or her identity.

The Korean government, which ratified the UNCRC in 1991, has incorporated such provisions of the UN Convention into the Special Cases on Adoption Act. Even though the baby box is intended for the life of abandoned newborns, it is in breach of Korean law and the UNCRC as an international law.

Conclusion
The UNCRC States shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present Convention. Article 4 of the UNCRC. So the Korean government must respect and protect every child’s right to an identity and prevent their name, nationality or family relationships from being changed unlawfully. If a child has been denied part of their identity illegally, the government must act quickly to protect and assist the child to re-establish their identity. Article 8. In this regard, though the baby box has been started for benevolent intention but separates the children from their birth parents by encouraging abandonment of children, it is in violation of this international norm.

Most of all, it counts the abandonment of newborns rather than the bay box itself. This kind of arrangement may mislead unprepared parents in economic and psychological troubles. What is urgently needed is to provide them with appropriate education, information, financial supports so that they may make a responsible decision and sexual behavior toward their unwanted children.

We must regard it more important for the children to seek their identity rather than the privacy of unwed parents. We have to exert every effort to establish supportive measures and social safety net so that birth parents may foster their own children. In this connection, the interests of the children have to be put on the first priority.