Shelters for dumped babies 'the lesser of two evils'

The problem of newborn babies being abandoned in parks, hospitals, public toilets or even dumpsters - often by unmarried mothers, migrants or others unable to afford health care - has long troubled mainland authorities. Many of the infants die of starvation, exposure or illness.

So, two years ago, Hebei's provincial capital Shijiazhuang quietly pioneered a radical solution. It established an anonymous drop-off point - a so-called abandoned baby island - where parents could leave unwanted children and give them a fighting chance for survival.

Of the 26 babies left at the shelter since January last year, 18, or more than two-thirds, had lived. That was well above the usual 50 per cent mortality rate for abandoned babies.

Positive results aside, the Ministry of Civil Affairs' efforts to expand the programme nationwide this month have drawn public criticism. Some have questioned whether the government is encouraging parents to break the law and abandon children they would otherwise try to raise.

A Xinhua report that one baby island in Nanjing received nine sick infants in just 10 days, including several from outside Jiangsu province, only fuelled opposition.

The report said that parents - inspired by media reports about the shelter - had driven from Anhui , Henan and Shandong to abandon their children. An official at the children's shelter said that the number of babies had exceeded its capacity and some parents had been turned away.

Other state media, however, rushed to defend the programme, calling on the public to be patient and give the shelters time to work.