A "baby hatch" is a small door in the outside wall of a hospital that allows parents to leave their child if they feel they can't care for the baby. Japan's Catholic-run Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto is the first place in Japan to have a "baby hatch", and it's raising concerns.

"But the many vocal critics of the first 'baby hatch' in Japan are afraid it may encourage parents to opt out of their responsibilities. And legal barriers and prejudice against adoption in Japan may mean that children abandoned in the 'baby hatch' will be raised in institutions rather than by adopted parents."

Many cite Confucianism as a reason adoption is not well received in Japan. It places a heavy emphasis on a child's relationship with his birth parents and a reverence for ancestry. Adoption outside of the family line wasn't approved in Japan until 1989, and only a few hundred of these types of adoptions take place each year. In comparison, the United Kingdom, which has about half of Japan's population, approves three to four thousand adoptions a year.

Read more at Today.Reuters.com.

Labels: ancestry, influences, society