Baby drops: pros and cons

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I am wondering what are the pros and cons of baby drops attached to convents or monasteries?

Very popular centuries ago, they have almost disappeared in the 20th century (why???). Some rare monasteries have since reinstated them - you can almost count them on your fingers worldwide.

Whilst in the old days abandoned babies were often raised by Catholic sisters, nowadays they are transferred to the Police and social services.

The baby drop seems like a sensible way to combat abortions. Women may choose to give birth instead of aborting if they know of a baby drop in their area. I can’t think of anything negative about baby drops. Can you?

http://www.coloroutpost.com/babydrop
 
Popof said:
I am wondering what are the pros and cons of baby drops attached to convents or monasteries?

Very popular centuries ago, they have almost disappeared in the 20th century (why???). Some rare monasteries have since reinstated them - you can almost count them on your fingers worldwide.

Whilst in the old days abandoned babies were often raised by Catholic sisters, nowadays they are transferred to the Police and social services.

The baby drop seems like a sensible way to combat abortions. Women may choose to give birth instead of aborting if they know of a baby drop in their area. I can’t think of anything negative about baby drops. Can you?

http://www.coloroutpost.com/babydrop
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Haven’t heard them called this but I know that the states have policies that allow women to “drop off” babies at hospitals, police stations and fire departments. I work as a paramedic at a fire department and we have a sign just outside that labels us a “baby safe zone.” We then take the baby to the hospital and leave the baby with social services. I live in a rural town that has no convents or monasteries so I’m not sure if they have a sign outside similar to that. I’ve never seen a Catholic church in my area with a sign like that.
 
Popof said:
This is the underlying question: shouldn’t they have one?
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Churces aren’t open all day and all night…are they?

I’m new to the faith but I assume that a church should be open at all hours in order to keep a sign like that available.
Hospitals, Fire departments and police departments are. They have people not only there physically but on watch 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Therefore, if a baby is left outside it wouldn’t take much time at all for someone who is awake a 2 am to bring in a little baby left outside and away from exposure.

If they kept someone at the church there and awake all night…then sure, they should. I don’t think they have the staff or funding to do something like that.
 
This is a catholic forum and I am asking this question in the context of our faith and church. Of course, a baby drop can only be placed in a community that permanently lives on location.
 
Actually, I need to rephrase.

At least for fire departments…the department must be a “manned” department for a sign like that to be kept.

We have many departments that aren’t manned and are only call-in departments…meaning that the crew gets called and comes in to open the building up and respond.

Normally, fire departments that are “baby drop zones” are designated as such because they have a dispatch center open and someone needs to up and awake to run dispatch.
 
Popof said:
This is a catholic forum and I am asking this question in the context of our faith and church. Of course, a baby drop can only be placed in a community that permanently lives on location.
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I understand that. But I can think about it practically as well. In the context of faith alone? Sure, a baby can and should be left at a church.

However, I wouldn’t want a baby to be left at a church that isn’t open for someone to go out and bring the baby in at 2 am. That’s dangerous and shouldn’t be encouraged.

Like I said in my first post…I don’t live in an area with monasteries or convents around. But people live there…so they should be available.

However, it’s no longer common practice for a child to be left for a convent to care for…at least not in the states. I assume that there are laws that need to be followed and social services need to be contacted on behalf of the child.
 
Popof said:
The baby drop seems like a sensible way to combat abortions. Women may choose to give birth instead of aborting if they know of a baby drop in their area. I can’t think of anything negative about baby drops. Can you?
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Another name for such devices is “baby hatch.” Nowadays, they tend to be heated or insulated to protect the warmth of the infant.

I think the advantage of such an approach is that it allows the mother to preserve her anonymity. That might encourage deeply ashamed and fearful women to give up their babies in a safe manner. Here is the US, it isn’t unknown for women to abandon their infants in ways nearly guaranteed to cause death, even in states with “Safe Haven” laws.

Safe Haven laws, as others mention, allow mothers to leave their infants at hospitals or fire stations with minimal attention. They guarantee that the child will be immediately cared for and have done good.

Which approach is best? I don’t know. But I do think having one or the other both available and accessible is a good idea.
 
Popof said:
The baby drop seems like a sensible way to combat abortions. Women may choose to give birth instead of aborting if they know of a baby drop in their area.
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I think we have to consider the reasons why women abort. I don’t have any numbers, but I think it’s reasonable to speculate that at least some women who have abortions don’t want the people in their lives to know they’re pregnant in the first place. In such cases baby drops/safety hatches won’t help.
Popof said:
I can’t think of anything negative about baby drops. Can you?
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One possible complication to baby drops at churches, convents or monasteries is of medical liability. If there is no one with medical training on hand, a fragile baby is left, and something happens to the baby before someone can get it to the hospital…

That’s the reason why Japan and the US (just two places I’m familiar with) have baby hatches at hospitals. And in the US one reason there are designated fire stations where babies can be left with no questions asked is because fire fighters have lifesaving training as well as ways to get to a hospital really quickly.

Luna
 
A convent in Warsaw has just had a baby left in their hatch - the first in 3 years. Compared with the number of abortions, it is a minute percentage… but I’m sure that this baby won’t feel like a “percentage” when he grows up!

The likelihood of a mother letting her pregnancy go unnoticed is also very small… but not impossible. I know of teenagers having given birth in their classroom, because no one (including themselves) has noticed they were pregnant.

The question of liability is a good one. Assuming the hatch is in a city, an ambulance is only minutes away.

A mother dropping her child in a place of worship (as opposed to a hospital or police station) indicates most likely that she wants her child baptised and / or blessed.
 
The orphanages ought to be brought back as well. If I were in that situation, I would certainly have a hard time giving up my child to a child-welfare system so riddled with problems. I would MUCH rather leave my child to an orphanage run by nuns (especially in this day and age when there would be greater accountability to secular law than in the past) than to the foster system… Guess we need to have more convents though. Must get to praying for vocations to the religious life…
 
I think we have the laws on the books, that do allow mothers to leave a baby in a safe location, such as a fire station or a hospital, but every time this happens, authorities seem to start searching for the mom anyway!

:eek:

Talk about defeating the purpose…

I think the purpose is mainly to stop women from delivering a live baby and then leaving it to die in a dumpster or skip. I don’t think the mom who is abortion-minded is going to want to go through 9 mos. of a pregnancy, trying to keep it secret, go through labor and delivery alone, and then take the baby to drop it off anonymously. Just my feeling.
 
Popof said:
A convent in Warsaw has just had a baby left in their hatch - the first in 3 years.
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A funny aside. When Japan first went with hospital baby hatches a Tokyo dad put his child through one and then drove away. The trouble was the child was four or five years old and was able to tell authorities his parents’ names, phone numbers, and where he lived. If I remember right dad was mad at junior about something and thought the hatches were there as some kind of emergency ‘this kid is driving me crazy’ escape valve.
Popof said:
The question of liability is a good one. Assuming the hatch is in a city, an ambulance is only minutes away.
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I think liability insurance also would come into play, at least in the US. I’m pretty sure that a religious organization would have to make pretty darn sure they’re free from liability, or thoroughly covered insurance-wise, before maintaining a safety hatch. With newborns with profound medical problems, even a few minutes is too long.
 
Luna_Lovecraft said:
A funny aside. When Japan first went with hospital baby hatches a Tokyo dad put his child through one and then drove away. The trouble was the child was four or five years old and was able to tell authorities his parents’ names, phone numbers, and where he lived. If I remember right dad was mad at junior about something and thought the hatches were there as some kind of emergency ‘this kid is driving me crazy’ escape valve.

I think liability insurance also would come into play, at least in the US. I’m pretty sure that a religious organization would have to make pretty darn sure they’re free from liability, or thoroughly covered insurance-wise, before maintaining a safety hatch. With newborns with profound medical problems, even a few minutes is too long.
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;)😃

If the “hatches” are big enough for a teenager to fit through…everyone would return them!
 
TheRealJuliane said:
;)😃

If the “hatches” are big enough for a teenager to fit through…everyone would return them!
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Remember the poorly-written Nebraska law a few years back? Parents were driving from all over the US to dump their teens in Nebraska…
 
I think we need to start, as a society, really getting the word out and making it a new paradigm about the advantages of adoption. I think once we have a mindset change that would help. I think a woman should be allowed to drop off her baby anonymously. It’s one less baby in a dumpster or commode.
 
Luna_Lovecraft said:
Remember the poorly-written Nebraska law a few years back? Parents were driving from all over the US to dump their teens in Nebraska…
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Oh yeah! I had forgotten until you just mentioned it!

:doh2::dts:

I was just kidding, I’d never do it. But I guess some parents are than desperate.

😦
 
Luna_Lovecraft said:
When Japan first went with hospital baby hatches a Tokyo dad put his child through one and then drove away. The trouble was the child was four or five years old and was able to tell authorities his parents’ names, phone numbers, and where he lived.
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Pranks and other jokes are unavoidable, such as are fake 911 calls. In some areas 66% of emergency calls are fake. However shutting down 911 has never been an option. And even if the baby hatch owners must put up with the odd cat or dog, isn’t it worth the trouble if a child’s life can be saved… even if it is once in 3 years?
Luna_Lovecraft said:
I think liability insurance also would come into play, at least in the US. I’m pretty sure that a religious organization would have to make pretty darn sure they’re free from liability, or thoroughly covered insurance-wise, before maintaining a safety hatch. With newborns with profound medical problems, even a few minutes is too long.
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… and whilst lawyers and small politicians ask this type of questions, babies die.

Typically the kind of question that a monastery or convent should ignore, to obey God’s will alone.
 
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