Brussels, 11/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - Anonymous birth, a highly controversial subject as it touches upon fundamental rights, was the subject of an exchange of views and experience between MEPs and experts in Brussels on Tuesday 10 February. The question of knowing whether or not to legislate at European level was part of that debate. On this issue, social norms and legislation vary from one member state to the next. Some authorise anonymous birth (France, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria and Hungary) while others do not (Germany, Belgium, Spain, United Kingdom and Switzerland - with recent reforms being suggested in Belgium and Germany). The public hearing, organised at the initiative of Hiltrud Breyer (Greens/EFA, Germany) by the women's rights and equal opportunities committee, also took stock of the arguments for and against, discussing the “baby flap” systems, protection of the health of mother and child, information left by the mother at the time of giving birth and on the right of the child to have access to such information, as well as the profile of women who give birth anonymously and the role of midwives.
Anna Zaborska (EPP-ED, Slovakia), who chairs the parliamentary committee, stressed the “importance of practical experience because we are speaking of the fate of both mother and child”. Ms Zaborska takes the view that a serious approach is needed, tackling problems of health and decease. “It is therefore necessary to encourage legislators in each of our countries to regulate on this question. Anonymous births are only a part of the puzzle”, she concluded. Hiltrud Breyer felt an initiative on this issue at European level should present for Europe “a situation that is comparable to that of France”. She was adamant about women's right to health. Lissy Gröner (PES, Germany) requested that “the birth take place under medical supervision in a medical environment”. “European legislation that takes the different situations into account is needed”, said Edite Estrela (PES, Portugal). This was challenged by Marie Panayatopoulos-Cassiotou (EPP-ED, Greece), who said: “It is not possible to legislate at European level on this matter as there is no legal base”.
Laura Maratou-Alipranti, who is director for research at the national centre for social research in Athens, put forward arguments both for and against anonymous birth. Anonymous birth means the child may be adopted, and not abandoned. It is also based on the postulation that social links are stronger than biological links. From a psychological point of view, the fact of not knowing who one's biological parent is may cause great moral suffering. In respect of the international convention on the rights of the child, Ms Maratou-Alipranti points out that all children have the right to know who their biological parents are. She finally requested that “multi-parentality” be recognised, the fundamental idea being that the child may have multiple connections with different persons who are, or were, or who are not the biological parents.
Marie-Josée Keller: France sets an example for Europe to follow
Marie-Josée Keller, President of the Conseil national de l'ordre des sages-femmes en France (national midwives council in France) pointed out that France is one of the only countries in Europe that ensures such a degree of protection for the mother's identity. One of the features of this practice in France is that it is anchored in an old tradition dating back to the 17th century.
Anonymous birth allows illegal abortion, infanticide and abandonment to be avoided while ensuring good conditions of healthcare and protection of the physical integrity of the mother and child during pregnancy and childbirth. The mother has two months in which to change her mind but, after that time, the child becomes a ward of the state and the mother loses all claim to the child.
Reform took place in 2002 in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which allows children to know their origins. The convention states: - the “state parties undertake to ensure the child such protection” (Article 3); - the child has “the right to know (…) his or her parents” (Article 7); - and the “state parties undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations” (Article 8). The mother therefore creates a dossier leaving as much information as possible on her own health and on that of the father, on the child's origins, on the circumstances of birth and on the reasons for placing the child up for adoption. The mother also has the possibility to leave her identity in a closed envelope.
The Conseil national d'accès aux origins personnelles (CNAOP) was created in 2002 and acts as an intermediary between the child, who hopes to have information, and the mother, who safeguards her identity. Once contacted by the CNAOP, the mother may refuse to communicate her identity or agree to reveal it. The child, in any case, has access to the dossier left by the mother at birth, composed with the help of the midwife.
The reality of the matter is that “some women are unable to bond with their child” and it is therefore out of the question to confront women's rights with the rights of the child but rather to find a compromise. Women resorting to anonymous birth are often very young with two-thirds under 25 years of age. They also come from traditional or Muslim families over half of whom live in the large towns, or are women in an extremely difficult material situation, women who have been raped or who are victims of incest or those suffering a great threat for their own lives or physical integrity. Women in such cases are in great distress and often find themselves isolated from the psycho-socio-emotional point of view.
The main question is that of whether harmonisation at Community level is possible. Ms Keller answered EUROPE's question by saying she thought it could be envisaged as “many countries are already evolving and changing their attitudes and legislation”. She nonetheless underlined that this could only be done “one small step at a time” as there is considerable divergence in public opinion and practice. Countries authorising anonymous birth are few and far between - Italy, if a birth link is possible is established at a later date, Luxembourg, Austria since 2001 for women in distress, and Hungary. Countries not authorising anonymous birth include Germany, Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom, where the name of the mother must appear on the child's birth certificate. Some countries, however, such as Germany, Austria and Belgium, have introduced the “baby flap” system which allows mothers to deposit their babies anonymously in a drawer in the wall of a centre which takes the baby in. Ms Keller repeated to EUROPE that this practice is not satisfactory as it “does not allow the child to know its origins and means that the mother gives birth all alone, anonymously, without professional medical care or follow-up”.
France seems to have found the golden mean when it comes to anonymous birth, an example that should be followed at the European Union level in order to eliminate the horrors that mothers and children have to go through in a continent that is supposed to be taking action in the fields of women's rights and the rights of the child. (G.B./E.M./transl.jl)