Abandoned children reunited with mothers
Print Edition
TWO children abandoned at local hospitals have recently been taken back by their mothers, officials with a city scheme to reunite families said yesterday.
Since February, four institutions — the police, courts, city women’s federation and civil affairs bureau — have been working together on such cases.
In the past five years, local hospitals have received at least 144 abandoned children, according to Youth Daily.
Often abandoned for health or family reasons, this practice is harmful to the child’s development and a burden on hospital resources, said officials.
In one case, an illegitimate child had been left at a local children’s hospital for three years.
The child’s father was married and had an affair with the mother. The parents said they didn’t want the child and had broken up when police traced them.
“We tried many ways to persuade them, such as showing them photos and videos of the child,” said Lu Ronggen, deputy chief of the rights and interests department of the Shanghai Women’s Federation.
Finally, the mother decided that she wanted her child back, while the father gave up his guardianship, Lu said.
In the other case, a sick baby had been abandoned at a city-level hospital.
Police traced the parents and found that the father is a drug addict, wanted by police. But the mother, who works in a nail parlor, was persuaded to take her child back.
“Being with their family is better for a child’s development,” said Lu. “Without parents’ love, they are very likely to grow into unsociable, withdrawn people.”
Keen to take back
Lu said many abandoned children had medical conditions that their families couldn’t afford to treat. When their condition improved, many were keen to take their children back, she said.
But Lu said efforts did not always succeed, as some parents promised to collect their children but never showed up.
One child has been at a children’s hospital for two years, and while police contacted the parents many times, it was in vain.
Lu said parents who ignore warnings face a five-day administrative detention and could face criminal detention.
While Lu tried to get families back together, she acknowledged that this is sometimes not going to happen.
In such cases, it is vital to do what’s best for the child‚ even if that means depriving the parents of guardianship to give the child a fresh start, she said.
“If the parents are taken into custody, their behavior will be seen as strong evidence of deliberately abandoning the child,” said Lu.
“If that happens, the court might consider if the parents should still be the child’s guardians,” Lu said.
The women’s federation and neighborhood can file a lawsuit on behalf of the child to deprive the parents of guardianship temporarily or forever.
“Our principle is to try to save a family not tear it apart. That only happens when both parents are very irresponsible regarding their obligations,” Lu said.
Although under Chinese law parents can be jailed for five years if they abandon their children, few are punished.
Lu said the joint action specifies what each partner in the initiative should do, and supplements the law.
“Children are innocent,” said Lu. “We must ensure that whatever is done is in their best interests.”
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