No more excuses for the Babybox

This cartoon produced by the Korean government shows that in other countries, personal information such as that about adoption and divorce cannot be known by looking at people’s identification records, and in this way, discrimination is prevented. The panel on the right shows that in Korea, people such as this unwed mother have been discriminated against because such information can be seen by others.

“The unwed mothers are dropping their children at the Babybox because they fear registering their children’s births, which the adoption agencies require.”  That is what we hear from the Babybox people.

However, an amendment to the Family Register law passed the National Assembly on May 18 and the Cabinet Council on June 2. It’s a done deal! The effect of this law will be to protect everyone’s privacy so that employers and others will not be able to see “sensitive” information on the family register such as children born out of wedlock, adoptions, divorces, and the like.

The law will be implemented on Nov. 19 this year.

So let’s celebrate, and ask Babybox supporters to support unwed moms raising their own kids instead. Mothers who really do want to send their children for adoption may do so legally and ethically by first registering the births of their children; they no longer need to worry about employers finding out their secret. Mothers who send their children now might be found later, and even then, they may keep their children a secret. Adoptees are not default stalkers and it is ludicrous to think that a baby is already a criminal from whom the mother needs protection.

Here is the link for the text of the law in Korean.

For the press release in Korean, but with helpful cartoons showing the effect of the law, you can go here.