More burial facilities in Hong Kong offer chance for grieving parents to let their miscarried babies rest in peace
- Selected cemeteries will allow couples of no religious affiliation to bury abortuses or spread their ashes if cremated
A growing number of burial options for miscarried babies in Hong Kong has provided greater relief to parents still mourning the loss of their children.
To Mr and Mrs Lee, who lost their daughter after 19 weeks of pregnancy, a burial site specifically for fetuses under 24 weeks, with no religious requirements, meant they could finally have an option to properly bury their unborn child.
“Mui Chu could have a home,” the husband said, referring to the nickname the couple had given to their stillborn daughter. In Cantonese, “mui” means sister and “chu” means pig, as the baby was originally expected to be born in the Year of the Pig.
“She is not a piece of waste,” the wife added.
The couple, who are about 40 years old and want to be identified only by their surname, are among the parents who have applied for a place to bury their lost babies in Tsuen Wan Chinese Permanent Cemetery, which has designated an area for abortuses, the medical term for fetuses miscarried before the 24th week.
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But before they learned early this month that their application had been successful, the Lees could only store their daughter’s ashes with a pet cremation company, which also cremated her.