A Life Changing Event In Seconds
A Life Changing Event In Seconds
In South Korea, hundreds of unwanted babies are abandoned every year and many of them are left to die on the street. Pastor Lee Jong Rak became concerned about the increasing number of abandoned babies so he decided to do something about it. Pastor Lee created a purpose built baby box attached to his house, where desperate mothers, who feel no longer able to look after their children themselves, anonymously leave them for him to look after. While the baby box concept has been widely praised, opposition to it has been growing. Some organizations in South Korea argue that it violates human rights and more should be done to address the cause of child abandonment.
Authorities say that Pastor Lee has a fantasy of what he is dong is the honest solution, but they do not believe in it. The baby box itself is a separation system between the mother and child; therefore, the mothers are actually being encouraged to discard their children. The government believes in birth registration – which abandoned children do not have – is a human right. If a child does not have birth registration, they do not legally exist. If they do not legally exist, it means that people can do whatever they want to do with them. The babies can be trafficked and can be sold illegally for adoption. The authorities claim that Pastor Lee is way too enthusiastic about what he is doing as saving children and saving lives. Moreover, they also say that his mind and ideas are so narrow and that is why he cannot see other side of society, the big picture.
Pastor Lee rebuttals that if people say the baby box are illegal then he can make it legal because there is nothing illegal about saving a human life. The babies that come to him are the ones who would otherwise die in the streets. Sometimes they come naked or with their umbilical cords still attached, and so these babies come from dire situations. There are huge social pressures at play in South Korea’s conservative
In South Korea, hundreds of unwanted babies are abandoned every year and many of them are left to die on the street. Pastor Lee Jong Rak became concerned about the increasing number of abandoned babies so he decided to do something about it. Pastor Lee created a purpose built baby box attached to his house, where desperate mothers, who feel no longer able to look after their children themselves, anonymously leave them for him to look after. While the baby box concept has been widely praised, opposition to it has been growing. Some organizations in South Korea argue that it violates human rights and more should be done to address the cause of child abandonment.
Authorities say that Pastor Lee has a fantasy of what he is dong is the honest solution, but they do not believe in it. The baby box itself is a separation system between the mother and child; therefore, the mothers are actually being encouraged to discard their children. The government believes in birth registration – which abandoned children do not have – is a human right. If a child does not have birth registration, they do not legally exist. If they do not legally exist, it means that people can do whatever they want to do with them. The babies can be trafficked and can be sold illegally for adoption. The authorities claim that Pastor Lee is way too enthusiastic about what he is doing as saving children and saving lives. Moreover, they also say that his mind and ideas are so narrow and that is why he cannot see other side of society, the big picture.
Pastor Lee rebuttals that if people say the baby box are illegal then he can make it legal because there is nothing illegal about saving a human life. The babies that come to him are the ones who would otherwise die in the streets. Sometimes they come naked or with their umbilical cords still attached, and so these babies come from dire situations. There are huge social pressures at play in South Korea’s conservative