In best interest of abandoned baby

The letter ‘Indiscreet handling of abandoned baby case’ (The Sunday Times, November 13), poses a number of questions which require clarification.

Let us allow her to live her childhood as any other child- Sina Bugeja, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Social Welfare Services, St Venera

One should note that upon finding the newborn baby, the Ursuline Sisters contacted both a doctor and the police. Within minutes, contact was established with the national child and family welfare agency, Appoġġ. Thus all authorities concerned were on board within minutes of the baby’s discovery.

The decision to take the newborn to hospital was taken by the doctor who examined the baby. Newborns may not always show symptoms of distress and/or difficulties immediately after birth. Hence, it is in the interest of a newborn to be observed medically for a few hours to ensure its health and well-being.

The letter-writer states: “What I know is that a woman will live with pangs of regret and fear for the rest of her life and a child will grow into a woman not knowing her mother and who she really is”. Undoubtedly a mother who abandons her child must be going through her own hardships, whatever they may be.

No mother abandons her child without a very serious motive; very often it is because she would like her child to have a better future than she can offer. No one has the right to judge the mother, even if this act is socially unacceptable.

However, the reality is that we have a newborn baby, without an identity. It is surely undesirable for anyone not to know or be aware of their origin and identity.

A child in such a situation, like any other child, has a right to live in his/her own family whenever possible, and when this is not possible, to be provided with an alternative family who can provide stability, security and love.

In the light of this Appoġġ has openly spoken about two scenarios: one where the mother is identified, and the other where she is not. The agency has throughout remained open to the possibility of the mother being identified. The police have called for information that could lead to her identification.

Unfortunately, the media have also spoken about possible penalties that the mother could face for having abandoned her child.

However, Appoġġ’s main interest in identifying the mother is firstly for the child to know its origin and secondly to assess the possibility of integrating the baby with her own family. In all this, let us not forget that we are referring to a vulnerable newborn baby whose needs and rights must be safeguarded. While our hearts reach out to the mother in the circumstances she faced, we cannot ignore the fact that this child needs love and security and needs to be provided with a family and with an identity and stability which to date have not been provided by her own family of origin.

The right to privacy of this newborn child also needs to be safeguarded. The agency gave information to reassure the public that the child has been taken care of and the necessary action has been taken to safeguard her interests and well-being. However, one must understand that both the child and mother have the right to privacy and their life will not be a subject of public debate.

This child has had an unfortunate start, let us all ensure that we all allow her to live her childhood as any other child, in full dignity and with full respect to her rights.