Hi-tech baby drop box

Well, file this under truth is stranger than fiction: a Northern Italian town recently christened the "cradle of life" baby drop box in hopes of curbing the 400 or so annual incidents of new born babies being dumped in trash bins, open fields, public toilets...you get the idea. The first or several planned $7,500 cradles is installed in a woman's shelter for single mothers and works as follows: when someone opens the metal flap of the box, an alarm sounds notifying social workers inside. The baby's weight triggers a sensor causing the box to warm-up and then sends a second, time-delayed signal to social workers while simultaneously sending a call to nearby ambulance services. It's no coincidence that the first of these is installed in the town of Padua where for nearly 500 years a lazy Susan-like device would spin unwanted children into the orphanage. Ahh, progress.

[J @ Jan 3rd 2006 2:41PM]

That is insanity. First that they even have a lazy susan type device for babies, and second that there is a such a market for it that they need to up the technology on it.



Nucking Futz!



(Reminds me of that Simpsons episode [Treehouse of horror 7]:



Kodos: Abortions for all!

Crowd: Boooo!

Kodos: Abortions for none!

Crowd: Boooo!

Kodos: Abortions for some, and little american flags for the rest!

Crowd: Yay!!!!!

)

[JinKazama @ Jan 3rd 2006 2:45PM]

How is it fair that women can go drop unwanted children in a box and be free for life with or without a man's consent.



But if a guy doesn't want a kid and the female does and the two are not married...he's forced to pay child support?

[Oliver @ Jan 3rd 2006 2:57PM]

This is hardly anything new - similar "drop boxes" have been around in other European countries for years. They are usually attached to a hospital, and the idea is to guarantee anonymity to the mother.

While no one can be in favor of abandoning a child, this is one of those situations where a real problem (abandoned babies) has to be remedied with a real solution. In most 'western' nations the demand for new-born adoptions outstrips the supply, so these kids have a very good chance of ending up in a good home.

[benhc911 @ Jan 3rd 2006 3:03PM]

Weeerooow Weeroow Here comes the spelling/grammar police

"The first or several planned $7,500 cradles" you might want to change to "r" in "or" to the "f" in "of". :P

Neat article though, once a baby is inside, is it locked from the outside world? ie. can someone who isnt authorized open the cradle and steal the baby.

[pbase @ Jan 3rd 2006 3:15PM]

"In most 'western' nations the demand for new-born adoptions outstrips the supply�"



Well, this actually depends on the race of the child. It's an unfortunate truth that african-american children are not adopted as readily as white children. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this forum.

[Gabis @ Jan 3rd 2006 4:48PM]

" How is it fair that women can go drop unwanted children in a box and be free for life with or without a man's consent.



But if a guy doesn't want a kid and the female does and the two are not married...he's forced to pay child support?"



I totally agree, it makes no sense. The whole feminist movement makes no sense. They want to be treated fairly, by being treated better. Same thing with civil rights. They dont want to be treated equally, they want to be treated better than everyone else.The arguement being that its 'retribution' for past wrongs commited by our ancestors to theirs. Its equivilant to retardation if you ask me.

[Tracy in Cary @ Jan 3rd 2006 4:49PM]

JinKazama: I think the theory is that if "mom" is dumping the baby, then "dad" has already opted out of support. Else "dad" would call the police when the baby goes missing, right?



benhc911: I too wondered if anyone could come by and pick the baby up. They could just put up a sign that says "free baby 5am - 6am".



All: But what got me was the 400/year number. Wouldn't you hate to be sneaking over there and dumping off your unwanted baby to run into ANOTHER person doing the same? That would be awkward.

[Jason @ Jan 3rd 2006 8:42PM]

I saw these in Germany a few years ago at a Women's shelter. Pretty ingenius actually. Although I don't condemn abandoning babies, I do think social workers are 1000 times better than a trash can.

[Louis @ Jan 3rd 2006 9:11PM]

Jin: Here's how it's fair.



The woman has already had to go through 9 months of pregnancy as well as the labor to have that child. The man "merely" had to have an orgasm.



If the father doesn't want the child, he has the option of not having sex (same as the woman, really), or convincing the woman to give up the baby, or aborting it if it's in the right country at the right time.



The mother has four options:

Convincing the husband to abort

Convincing the husband to give up for adoption

Keeping the baby



The father has four options:

Convincing the mother to abort

Convincing the mother to give up the baby

Keeping the baby



Any other alternative is really abhorrent.

[Nick @ Jan 3rd 2006 10:28PM]

Condone, I think you mean...

O_o

[Max @ Jan 4th 2006 2:38AM]

Without getting too far into it, women don't want to be treated better than men. They just want equal oppurtunity and equal responsibility. Feminists could give a shit about opening their own doors and paying for their own meals; what they want is equal oppurtunity and responsibility.

[Babs @ Jan 4th 2006 3:18AM]

I don't think that it's a coincidence that this is happening right smack where the Roman Catholic church is located. Birth control bad! So then we have to come up with social contraptions to make up for the bass ackwards notions of an outdated religion. Same shit, different year.

[Dylan @ Jan 4th 2006 7:24AM]

Sorry to say, but I've heard about one in South Africa thats been there for quite a few years. They even got this "hi-tech" stuff (alarm, automatic heating etc) installed a couple years back. Its in Johannesburg and is at an orphanage or a church.



While I too am not in agreement with abandoning babies, its a hell of a lot better than dumping them out in the forest or in trash cans or public toilets like what used to happen.



The last time I heard statistics about it, they were saying that almost 100% of the babies are HIV positive, meaning that the mothers were HIV positive and were probably suffering badly from AIDS and could not look after the babies at all.



From what I can gather its a really really last choice for these mothers, and they do it because they know the baby is better off than staying with them.

[Whitney @ Jan 5th 2006 2:36AM]

Weeerooow Weeroow Here comes the spelling/grammar police



"The first or several planned $7,500 cradles" you might want to change to "r" in "or" to the "f" in "of". :P"







And YOU might want to check your spelling before you whine about it.