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For 15 years, Jikei Hospital has been the only place in Japan where a child can be dropped off anonymously and safely.
The hospital in the Kumamoto region also offers a 24/7 pregnancy support advice hotline and the only “confidential birth” program, which have made it the target of criticism.
“The most important role that our system has played so far is to provide a kind of last resort for women who are prejudiced by society when they have an unexpected or unwanted pregnancy. Society’s motivation to sympathize or help them seems to be low, if not completely non-existent,” says doctor Takeshi Hasuda.
The doctor says that they have the door open even for people who come from much more distant places.
“There are women who are ashamed, who come from other, more distant countries, they feel as if they have done something terrible (by becoming pregnant) and they are very scared. For these women, a country like ours that does not stop anyone and makes them think ‘I will also be welcome’ is very important.”
While Koiçi Mijatsu, one of the many children once left at the doors of this hospital, tells how his life has changed since then.
“The day they left me there was the day a new chapter of my life began. I think it was good that they left me here because I met my actual parents. I may still be missing some pieces of who I am, but my life after coming to the hospital is much more important. I’ll never know everything about my life before, so even if there are some pieces missing, it doesn’t fundamentally change who I am today.”
Hospital like this in Japan, there are also in South Korea, Pakistan and the United States. But they have been banned in some countries, such as Britain, and have been criticized by the UN for violating a child’s right to know their parents and their identity.
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