The legal regulation of infant abandonment in South Africa

Abstract

Abstract: South Africa has seen a surge in infant abandonment over the last decade. News reports indicate that infants are abandoned in places such as open fields, dustbins and pit latrines, which often lead to their deaths. The current South African law criminalises the act of child abandonment but provides no safe alternative for women who are desperate and have no other recourse but to abandon. A number of countries provide a safe alternative to unsafe infant abandonment for mothers who find themselves without any other option. Germany, has three alternatives to unsafe infant abandonment. Firstly, baby safes were Germany’s starting point, a method not legally regulated but which was developed to save the lives of infants. Secondly, Germany attempted to legally regulate a safe method of infant relinquishment by implementing anonymous birth laws and lastly confidential birth laws were established to “perfect” safe infant relinquishment by dealing with the last challenge posed by these systems, which is assuring the child of a future right to knowledge of his or her origins. Further, all fifty states in the US have developed baby safe haven laws in an attempt to curb unsafe infant abandonment and to safeguard the lives of infants. The implementation of a safe method of infant relinquishment comes with its challenges, one such challenge is the rights of fathers. Although fathers’ rights cannot be guaranteed when an infant is anonymously relinquished by the mother, the putative father registry is an existing method employed in the US to provide some form of protection to unmarried fathers. When an infant is relinquished through one of the methods mentioned, except in the instance of confidential birth, identifying information of both mother and father are not provided and this poses a further challenge in guaranteeing the child’s right to knowledge of his or her origins. The infringement of the child’s right to knowledge of his or her origins is weighed against the child’s right to life as the ultimate aim of these safe methods of relinquishment is to preserve the life of the child. Finally, legislation is proposed for the implementation of baby safes or baby safe haven laws.LL.D