German ethics council: anonymous births and baby hatches morally ‘problematic’

November 27, 2009 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: News

Germany’s National Ethics Council says that the practice of anonymous hospital births and use of baby hatches needs to change.

A, "Babyklappen"

In 1999, Germany put into place a program allowing women to anonymously put newborns into state care by depositing them in one of almost 80 Babyklappen, heated incubator hatches for babies. Additionally, the program allowed a woman to go to one of 130 different hospitals and give birth anonymously.

However, the country’s National Ethics Council on Thursday declared the services unlawful, stating that hospitals deny the deposited children knowledge of their origin and that the most at-risk women fail to use the hatches.

“The German Ethics Council suggests that pregnant women and mothers in emergency situations be aided as much as possible without damaging the rights of others — their children in particular,” the council said in a statement. The council has called for renewed talks concerning Germany’s prenatal social services.

Catholic Women’s Welfare Service, a professional women’s association in the Church, has praised the council’s declaration, stating that the policy needs new attention.

Maria Elisabeth Thoma, the organization’s head, told the Frankfurter Rundschau, “We simply can’t continue this way.” Thoma said that the legality of the practice has long been in question, and she encouraged the government to find ways to address the legal concerns of the women and children in these situations.

Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats have recently recognized that new legislation may be required to address the rights of mothers and babies.

In the Rheinische Post, the party’s deputy parliamentary floor leader Ingrid Fischbach said, “We want a law that insures confidential birth and improves the counseling services for pregnant women in need.”

Fischbach stated that such a law would make the anonymity of a woman who wants to giver up her baby temporary rather than permanent. A civil registry office would receive the relevant demographic information of the mother after a short period of time, making it potentially available to the children later.

Since the program’s inception in 1999, more than 500 babies have been anonymously given up.