LISTEN | Child protection group warns making baby savers illegal 'will cost lives'
A Durban-based child protection group is urging the public to share their views on a government proposal that could make baby savers illegal.
Baby savers are secure boxes where mothers can safely and anonymously leave newborns, triggering an alert for rescuers to respond.
Last month, two babies were found safely in baby savers boxes in Umhlali and on the Bluff.
The Department of Social Development says abandoning a child in this way is illegal and advises mothers to contact hospitals, police, or social workers for lawful options.
Project Life founder Milly Hertz says the proposed ban could cost more lives and undo years of life-saving work.
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“We find this ludicrous as baby savers around South Africa because our boxes are there to prevent unsafe abandonment. And if that option of having a baby saver is taken away from a mother, she is put in a position where she is forced to leave her child in an unsafe place. And this in the long run would lead to even more unsafe abandonment and children dying.
"In fields and bins and toilets, and these babies die in the most horrible, painful, slow ways.”
Citizens have until October 25 to email their comments, and supporters plan a march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria next Friday.
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