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 The BBC's Rob Broomby in Berlin"The psychological impact on children abandoned in this way is incalculable"  real 28k |
Row over postbox for unwanted babies
Babies are pushed through the hatch onto a warm bed
A row has broken out in the German city of Hamburg over a plan to allow women to deposit unwanted babies in a specially designed "letterbox".
The project is aimed at preventing deaths of abandoned newborns, but local conservative politicians have called it unchristian and inhuman.
Mothers can anonymously post the babies through a large letterbox-style hatch onto a soft, heated bed.
Medical staff at a hospital next door are alerted of a new arrival by an alarm, and the baby should be picked up within 10 minutes.
The child will be looked after for two months, after which it will be put up for adoption or fostering, unless the mother comes forward.
Criticism
Thirty newborn babies died in Germany last year, after being dumped in rubbish bins and cardboard boxes. Four babies were abandoned in Hamburg, of whom two died.
Critics say the scheme, known as Operation Foundling, is taking the idea of today's disposable society to the extreme.
"Charges must be brought against the first person who leaves their child there," Viviane Spethmann of the Hamburg Christian Democrats told Bild newspaper.
But local Roman Catholic bishop Hans-Jochen Jaschke supported the scheme.
"This is a good signal for our society," he said. "Every person needs a chance to live. It's always better to help people than to condemn them."
The Association for Adoption and Fostering said there were better ways to solve the problem. A spokeswoman said adopted children should be guaranteed a minimum of information about their origins.
Funding
The project is being run by the Hamburg social welfare society, SterniPark.
The $100,000 scheme is being part-funded by Hamburg's youth authorities, but it also derives some of its money from private donations.
Some $3,000 has been donated by a recycling firm which once discovered an abandoned child dead among its rubbish.
Similar projects already operate in Hessen and Brandenburg with limited success, while a scheme in Bavaria run by a Catholic women's group has been criticised for its secrecy in refusing to release the numbers of babies rescued.
The project was even tried once before in Hamburg in the 18th Century.
The German Government is said to be receptive to plans to expand Operation Foundling nationwide.
Similar schemes are also in operation in Minnesota, USA, and in South Africa.
The project is aimed at preventing deaths of abandoned newborns, but local conservative politicians have called it unchristian and inhuman.
Mothers can anonymously post the babies through a large letterbox-style hatch onto a soft, heated bed.
Medical staff at a hospital next door are alerted of a new arrival by an alarm, and the baby should be picked up within 10 minutes.
 The project is being part-funded by a recycling firm which found a child |
Criticism
Thirty newborn babies died in Germany last year, after being dumped in rubbish bins and cardboard boxes. Four babies were abandoned in Hamburg, of whom two died.
Critics say the scheme, known as Operation Foundling, is taking the idea of today's disposable society to the extreme.
"Charges must be brought against the first person who leaves their child there," Viviane Spethmann of the Hamburg Christian Democrats told Bild newspaper.
But local Roman Catholic bishop Hans-Jochen Jaschke supported the scheme.
"This is a good signal for our society," he said. "Every person needs a chance to live. It's always better to help people than to condemn them."
The Association for Adoption and Fostering said there were better ways to solve the problem. A spokeswoman said adopted children should be guaranteed a minimum of information about their origins.
Funding
The project is being run by the Hamburg social welfare society, SterniPark.
The $100,000 scheme is being part-funded by Hamburg's youth authorities, but it also derives some of its money from private donations.
Some $3,000 has been donated by a recycling firm which once discovered an abandoned child dead among its rubbish.
Similar projects already operate in Hessen and Brandenburg with limited success, while a scheme in Bavaria run by a Catholic women's group has been criticised for its secrecy in refusing to release the numbers of babies rescued.
The project was even tried once before in Hamburg in the 18th Century.
The German Government is said to be receptive to plans to expand Operation Foundling nationwide.
Similar schemes are also in operation in Minnesota, USA, and in South Africa.
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