To be horrified by these ‘baby boxes’?

[TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl]

This just came up on my newsfeed and I’m absolutely horrified by the whole concept of women abandoning their newborns in the US:

www.newschannel10.com/2023/02/10/newborn-surrendered-baby-box-installed-less-than-3-months-ago/?fbclid=IwAR1qz7BbrIeF390b6YXl4mAscw82cTvt-Bzwnp_LMaZMMCjBcpltEZGHav0#ldzrvrvoa7ecauugx04

Im NOT having a go at these women, and this is supposedly to prevent newborns being abandoned in unsafe places.

But surely the answer isn’t “Hey brand new mum with raging hormones, probably depression, who is tired, stressed and not thinking straight - put your baby here for a nice new family” - it should be about supporting mums with PND, improving practical support, healthcare and rights of new mothers and reproductive rights. Not just “Oh well you don’t feel OK today so probably best you don’t be a mum, here’s a little box to pop your baby in”.

My spidey senses were tingling so when I did a bit of further research, the woman who started these is, of course, fiercely anti abortion. So that’s what it’s all about. it’s about not allowing women their reproductive rights but making them go through a birth they don’t want, have the trauma of having a baby they don’t want but it’s OK, and the heartache of giving them away - no harm done ey 😡

And imagine a woman who DIDN’T want an abortion but is just struggling and has a moment of madness who will come to regret doing that - it’s just not the answer, in any situation, for women or for babies

Surely it's better than the baby being dumped in the bin or under a bush.
Germany have had these boxes for years. Nobody is expecting that they will be used regularly but if it's used once in 5 years that's one baby's life that has been saved.

They've been around for years and I think they're a good thing.
There are several reasons why a woman doesn't want to keep her baby and it's not for others to judge.
Remember that the USA has stringent abortion laws, to the point where it's virtually impossible to obtain.
What are those women supposed to do when they can't even have an abortion when the pregnancy is the result of a rape?
They are a good thing, it's better than abandoning a baby in a phone box.
Try looking at the wider picture with open wide eyes before you become horrified.

I remember watching a program about these 10 years ago. They are saving the lives of babies who may otherwise have been dumped somewhere unsafe.

It beats leaving a newborn in a freezing cold park or on a doorstep for hours. These ‘box’ schemes are a very safe way for someone in very vulnerable place to leave their child with people who will care for the baby immediately and keep them safe until they can get to a better place. They often get reunited with the mother.

It’s a difficult one. At the height of my PND I wished someone would adopt my DD as I wasn’t able to/good enough. My ex was useless and it was a time that there was a vague concept of ‘baby blues’ but PND wasn’t taken seriously other than to put you on antidepressants. I could really see myself leaving DD in such a box.

But then you have large parts of the US with anti abortion laws. Many women will actually desperately need to be able to safely leave a baby they were forced to carry.

Sadly some women do give birth in secret and abandon babies, even in countries where abortion is available for free.
The lucky ones get put on a doorstep somewhere safe to be discovered, but some are abandoned and die scared and alone. Some are killed. If those boxes save one little life I'm all for them, whatever the motivation.

There will always be women in positions where they abandon babies, there always have been. These babies need somewhere safe. Yes the adoption business in America makes it more suspect as does the lack of women's sbortiyrufhts in some states. These exist in many countries in Europe too though with robust abortion available

Have you seen the other things happening to abandoned babies? Dumped in bins, wrapped in plastic bags and left outside?
Why are you going straight to these are anti abortion rather than something that is a good thing and saving children?

I saw a program about them. When you place the baby in the box, you get a pack of information about services that provide support and also contact information in case you change your mind. I agree that it's better than babies being abandoned somewhere unsafe.

So what is the answer?

My friend found a baby abandoned somewhere random. If people are going to do this better to put baby in a safe place at least

If babies were put first then there would be less need for these boxed

Adults do not so they are needed

Sure sad but necessary

Maybe more education for men and woman about only having a baby if you are ready may help, until then they are needed

What is the alternative then? Babies being abandoned and left to die? Babies being killed? Yes in a 'moment of madness' a woman suffering from PND could put the baby in a box and come to regret it, but in the same vein a woman suffering from PND could abandon or harm her baby in a 'moment of madness'. It has happened many times. But at least in one of those scenarios the baby is safe.

They're a brilliant idea. Saves babies dying unnecessarily. They've been around in third world countries for decades sadly, eg. Edhi foundation in Pakistan.

Better, more practical support for struggling women. Better maternity laws in the US so women don’t have to go back to work after just a few weeks. Free healthcare. So many answers before an anti-choice loon gives women an option they may regret.

You’re horrified at the wrong thing op. You should be horrified that a large number of girls and women would be completely priced out of receiving mental health treatment in the US. You should be horrified at the ruling made by mostly old white males that these girls and women can’t access abortions. If a child has been raped, fears telling her parents and leaves the baby in the box so she doesn’t get thrown out of home, should we judge for that? I’d see it that for these women leaving their baby in the box is an absolute last resort brought on by lack of choice and freedom.

you really haven’t thought this through have you? I’m very pro abortion but once the unwanted baby’s born, what should happen to it? left in a park at night? Smothered and put in a dumpster? a woman who’s been forced to carry to term is desperate, the boxes are a good option for these women. If you’d done an iota of research you’d see that they’re not instantly adopted by another family, there’s the option of reunification with the mother for quite some time afterwards

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the device was known as a foundling wheel.

I thought my post was clear that that’s what I AM horrified about - hence my ‘this isn’t the answer’ stance. If women and girls had better access to MH support, a right to abortions and more laws to protect them, these boxes would not be needed. Ask yourselves why we don’t have them in the UK.

Have you totally missed the removal of abortion rights in America?

The problem isn’t a failure to put babies first, it’s a failure to put WOMEN first.

They are not an alternative to keeping the baby. They are an alternative to leaving the baby somewhere it may die (or killing it first).

Nobody is going to think "Ooh! A box! My baby is hard work, why don't I leave it here?"

This is exactly it.

Being separated from their mother would be distressing for a baby but they will ultimately be OK, but I feel like for women there should be much better support and right before there should be boxes where they give up their baby.

Yet something compels these women, who live in a wealthy, first world country, to abandon them in car parks - so why isn’t THAT being addressed, what has lead them to do that?

That wasn't clear at all, well to me! I inferred from your 'horrified'stance you were horrified women were using these rather than abortions.