Tag Archives: Lithuania

While Germany debates the ethics and legality of anonymous baby dumping, Ecumenical News Service reports that the Lithuanian government, in conjunction with the country’s Catholic bishops, has opened baby hatches in the capital city Vilnius and Klaipeda, the country’s only seaport. The first hatch is located in a “special room” in the Vilnius Babies’ Foster Home. Babies left will be cared for on the premises. Parents and family members will have three months to visit and reclaim the infant before the state takes permanent custody. Although the “windows of life,” as the hatches are called, were instituted in response to four alleged cases of neonaticide in 2007, they are clearly being marketed as an anti-abortion measure. Richardas Doveika (right), assistant to the secretary of the bishop’s council says, “The church, as a preacher of life, always blesses every pro-life initiative.” The bishops, he says, are considering adding “windows” in church-run hospitals throughout the country, but offers no evidence of need. In fact, I have been unable to find any statistics on the number of abandoned newborns or neonaticides in Lithuania other than the reference to the 2007 cases. Petronele Valatkeviciene, director of the foster home, unaware or uncaring of the Continue Reading →