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Fears Grow as Baby Abandonment Rises Amid Proposed Law Changes
A Crisis on Our Doorstep
Across South Africa, the headlines are becoming heartbreakingly familiar. A baby was left in a canal in Lwandle. Another was discovered in an open field near Cape Town’s M5, still attached to its umbilical cord. Two infant girls were found days apart in Wallacedene, one by a passerby, another in a drain. Just weeks earlier, a newborn’s body was found in a bin in Kraaifontein.
These are not isolated tragedies. Child protection advocates say they are the visible evidence of a system failing mothers and infants. And they warn that things could soon get worse.
The Legislative Change Raising Alarm
The Gauteng Department of Social Development has proposed amendments to the Children’s Act that would classify any baby placed in a Baby Saver box as “abandoned.” Critics say this move risks criminalising desperate mothers and the very organisations that have saved countless lives.
For those working on the ground, the timing could not be more concerning. Baby Saver SA co-founder Dr Whitney Rosenberg explained that every Baby Saver box is monitored, with protocols in place to ensure newborns receive immediate medical care before being placed with registered child protection organisations. “If the system does not support mothers, unsafe abandonment is the outcome. We see it already: babies in drains, bins, canals. These are real lives lost,” she said.
Voices from the Frontline
Activists, healthcare workers, and civil society groups are united in their opposition. Dr Rosenberg shared cases where teenage mothers who asked for adoption were pressured by clinic staff to care for the babies themselves, leaving them with no safe option. She also described women calling multiple social workers for help, only to be left waiting. “Too often, mothers are shamed. But when you look at poverty, trauma, and abuse, you begin to understand,” she said.
Lucinda Evans, a gender-based violence activist, placed the issue in stark perspective. “What alternatives exist for a rape victim who has nowhere to go? Baby Savers save children and women. To close them is to ignore the lived realities of the most vulnerable,” she argued.
For Siya Monakali of Ilitha Labantu, the risk is clear: “Shutting down Baby Saver services strips away one of the few immediate lifelines for newborns. Unsafe abandonment is what happens when mothers have no accessible options.”
Political Pushback
The Democratic Alliance has pledged to fight the amendment. The party argues that by refusing to legally recognise Baby Savers, the DSD is ignoring both the Constitution and existing High Court processes that emphasise safeguarding children. “This reckless plan will force mothers into fields and drains instead of safe relinquishment,” a party spokesperson warned.
A Matter of Life and Death
Behind the politics are mothers in crisis. Some are survivors of rape or abandonment. Others face poverty and stigma. For them, safe relinquishment through Baby Saver services represents an act of protection, not neglect.
As Dr Rosenberg put it: “A mother who safely hands over her baby in a Baby Saver box is saving her child’s life. Criminalising this will not stop abandonment, it will only make it more dangerous.”
Searching for Humane Solutions
In the Western Cape, officials have clarified that Baby Savers are not being shut down. Support services such as counselling, family planning, and adoption information remain available through health facilities, local DSD offices, and NGOs. But for advocates, these measures do not replace the urgent need for safe relinquishment options recognised by law.
With five newborns found in tragic circumstances in just one province, campaigners say the stakes are too high to gamble with. For South Africa’s most vulnerable, the question is no longer about policy detail. It is about survival.
Also read: Pro Palestine Protesters Demand South Africa Cut Ties With Israel
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Source: IOL
Featured Image: Mind The Bleep
