The girl in her 10s didn't want her parents to know and wanted to give birth, only telling the hospital about "secret fertility"
On January 4, Cihui Hospital in Kumamoto City, Japan, announced that a woman in her 10s had undergone a "secret birth" of giving birth alone because she did not want others to know because she did not want others to know. The Japanese Household Registration Law stipulates that it is obligatory to record the names of parents and children on birth certificates. For the first time in history, secret births by mothers who do not identify themselves to the government are not supported by law in Japan.
Since 2007, the hospital has operated the Cradle of Storks (a baby mailbox, a special place in Japan for abandoned babies) to entrust them with the anonymity of children who cannot be raised. In order to avoid the dangerous situation of pregnant women falling into the dangerous situation of giving birth alone, secret births were introduced in 2019.
In secret births, expectant mothers only communicate their identities to a subset of the hospital staff. If the woman does not want to register her birth, the hospital will file it in her place without filling in the identity of the mother. When the child reaches a certain age, he can learn about his mother from the hospital.
At the press conference, ken Renda, the hospital's director, said that in mid-November last year, a woman living in Western Japan sent an email saying that she was about to be born at 9 months pregnant and did not want her parents to know. In December, bleeding began on the way to Kumamoto City, and the chairman and others protected the women at JR Hakata Station (Fukuoka City) and gave birth to a child at Cihui Hospital the next day.
Women are afraid of being cut off by their mothers and giving birth without disclosing their personal information. In order to ensure the right to birth of the child, only the head of the neonatal counseling room was named, and copies of the health insurance certificate and the previously enrolled student id card were handed to him in an envelope. The envelope was kept in a safe at the hospital. When a woman is discharged, the baby is cared for in a hospital.
Kumamoto city said it is "difficult to say whether this is legal" and asked the hospital to suspend such secret births, requiring the state to confirm whether the practice is legal.
Chairman Renda said: "I think this is to ensure the safety of mothers and children, which is meaningful. There are also the same people who come to us for consultation, and there is a possibility of continuing. It is hoped that the executive branch will take realistic countermeasures. ”
Questions and answers at the press conference
-The female visitor is passing through
"There was an email in mid-November last year to inquire. After that, we also contacted by email and telephone, and decided on the day of coming to Kumamoto in December. When I received news of the blood that morning, I went to pick her up at hakata station on the Shinkansen (JR) and arrived at the hospital in the afternoon. The next day the baby was born smoothly. ”
- What mother and child look like after birth
"The woman hugged the baby immediately after giving birth. However, because there were outliers in the blood test after birth, it was decided to put antibiotics and drips into a nursery. In the absence of a hug, women come to visit babies every day. I cried when I picked up my baby on the day of discharge. ”
"Met the midwife and counsellor at the hospital and she said ' I've never been treated so gently by an adult'. Although it was only a matter of course to deal with it, it was definitely something around the woman to let her say so. I think some people think it's their responsibility, but I also want people to understand the environment in which women grew up. ”
- The reason why women cannot be identified is
"There is a risk of violence by a male partner. Knowing that having a child will be severed by the mother. I have had the experience of being abused by my mother, and the parent-child relationship is not good, but I still don't want to leave my mother. ”
- How to keep a woman's identity information
"We put copies of our health insurance certificate and my high school student ID in the envelope she brought. Only the head of the consultation room confirmed the contents and kept them strictly in the hospital. ”
- When to disclose information to children
"Women say 'babies say they want to know when they can always make it public'. When it is public, you need to contact the woman to confirm. ”
-Will you continue to have secret births in the future?
"She said, 'If you can't have a baby in the hospital, you might throw it away when you're done.'" In order to prevent a dangerous person from giving birth, she will continue to give birth secretly. In addition, in order to prevent about 20 infant abandonments and killings every year, it is hoped that the municipal government will take realistic measures to deal with them. ”
- The reason for thinking that women are likely to repent
"She wrote me a letter about the baby. When she was hospitalized, she said, 'I was worried that my child wouldn't be able to sleep'. After I was discharged from the hospital, she also contacted me and asked 'is the child all right'. I think her feelings for her own children are very strong. ”
- The content of the letter is
"Thank you for being born healthy. Hope you are the happiest person in the world. ”
The "child hukou" state has not yet recognized
Secret births are carried out by Cihui Hospital without national approval.
In the household registration law, in the case of abandonment of a child, the mayor of the local municipality who protects the child will decide on the child's name and submit an application, and if he knows his or her biological parents, he must write the names of the parents.
Kumamoto City Hospital submits a birth certificate without concealing the identity of the mother, and it is difficult to say that it is legal. If the mother's name is blank, she may be prosecuted for misrepresenting the original notarized certificate of criminal law.
The municipal government will continue to support women to cancel secret births until the decision is accepted, but the Ministry of Justice did not clearly respond to the issue of children's household registration on the 4th, "in the general theory, as long as japanese nationality is recognized", but "handled as an individual case", there is no clear response.
Based on this situation, Kumamoto City repeatedly proposed to the state a discussion on legal rectification on the grounds that "local governments and private hospitals cannot solve the problem".
Kansai University professor Kenji Yamagata (Child Family Welfare) commented that "secret births are effective in ensuring personal safety." On this basis, he also listed the problem of managing information in the future only in hospitals, and pointed out that "this is an issue related to the human rights of children, and the state should express official opinions".
There are quite a few girls, unwilling to tell anyone, that a person risks giving birth to a child or infects death or throws it away, or even threatens the life of the mother. Will such a system really be a way to protect the safety of mothers and children?