March 9, 2007
Written by C.N.
Abortion vs. Adoption
For several years now, many hospitals, police stations, and other public facilities around the country have programs (Massachusett’s is called the “Safe Baby Haven“) where anyone can leave a newborn baby for someone else to adopt, no questions asked. The argument is that it’s better to give desperate mothers (and fathers) the option of giving their baby up for adoption anonymously rather than abandoning them to die. In Japan, a similar program exists, informally called the “baby box”:
Japan has also set up “public cradles against abortionâ€. Following India, which last week launched a “cradles scheme†against abortions and foeticide of girls, the Japanese Health Minister approved a decision taken by a hospital in Kumamoto to have a “baby box†for the public. Hospital officials said the box was intended to ensure absolute privacy for those parents who wanted to abandon their newly born babies. . . .
According to officials of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the proposal “does not violate any law but should be supported because it protects the safety of unwanted babies.†Clearly, they added, from a legal point of view, the hospital would have to answer for the safety of the children. All the same, “the government will do everything possible to help through adoption and tax reduction campaignsâ€.
Supporters of such programs also argue that such “baby boxes” or “safe baby havens” eliminate the need for abortions, since parents can now just give up their child anonymously. Personally, I don’t think that it needs to be an either-or proposition — women should still have the right to an abortion within current medical guidelines (i.e., before their third trimester) while such “baby boxes” can still be available to parents who need to use them.
In other words, I believe that regardless of what country you’re in, more choices are always better than fewer choices.
Author Citation
Copyright © 2001- by C.N. Le. Some rights reserved. 
Suggested reference: Le, C.N. . "Abortion vs. Adoption" Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America. <https://www.asian-nation.org/headlines/2007/03/abortion-vs-adoption/> ().
Short URL: https://www.asian-nation.org/headlines/?p=387
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