"Baby hatches," nameless childbearing serve as German abortion alternatives
BERLIN (AFP) - German women confronted with an unwanted pregnancy now have a number of unique alternatives to abortion including anonymous childbirth and "baby hatches" to safely deposit abandoned newborns at clinics.
The baby hatches have popped up in several German cities in recent years, allowing mothers to leave their infants in good hands by simply opening a hatch fitted into a wall, away from prying eyes.
The first hatches opened in April 2000 in Hamburg on the initiative of a private organization called Sternipark in reaction to the discovery of a dead infant in a garbage bin in 1999 -- the fifth such case in the northern city that year.
About 50 babies are found abandoned on the streets of Germany annually.
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"Baby hatches," nameless childbearing serve as German abortion alternatives