When a child is having a baby, and she is frightened because she suddenly realises the consequences of her actions do we support her? Or do we crucify her.... together with the infant? Would providing a baby hatch for the young mother to at least know that her child will be in safe hands be the right thing to do? Or would it be a sin to do so?

By Firdaus Helmy and Mariam Abbas

The world can be a very cruel place to live in. People love to play jury, judge and executioner. As they say, reality bites. That's just the way things are.

And when you find yourself in society's scrutiny, woe befalls you: Even more so when there are the issues of scruples and morals that are being considered, and especially when a young person is involved.

Now, with those facts in your face, can you imagine what would go through a girl's mind when she finds herself pregnant without a partner at her side? Can you feel the fear in her heart as she thinks about the repercussions of her actions?

More than anything, you could almost see her pacing, pondering and worrying herself sick over the shame she would be bringing to the family; the accusatory looks people - relatives and friends together - would give her; and the fear of being judged and caught like a criminal.

But the deed has already been done. And the baby will be born.

With nowhere to go and no support from any party; suddenly alone and afraid with the world seemingly crumbling around them, many of these young women have found themselves at the end of the rope. Fraught with fear they succumb to the worst thing a mother could possibly do; throw away their child.

Between 2005 and 2009 in this country, official statistics show that almost 500 babies were abandoned. This year alone, 24 cases were filed as of April. And you can only imagine the number of those that go unrecorded.

This has encouraged the recent setting up of a baby hatch by an NGO, OrphanCARE - supported by the Ministry of Family, Women and Community Development - to help distraught young pregnant girls save the innocent babies, rather than just throw them at the most "convenient" places.

For years we have read of gruesome stories about newborns whose mothers - with nowhere and no one to turn to - discard them in dumpsters, toilets and forests, to be eaten alive by ants, bitten by rats and other rodents.

It's an unimaginable end for an innocent child.

Yet, even as the baby hatch programme takes off, and with a recent adoption of a boy in July, the debate continues with naysayers insisting that such a move only encourages pre-marital sex, having more babies out of wedlock and an increase in baby dumping.

But as the parties on opposing ends unceasingly argue, fighting and firing their points away, we ask the real party that is directly affected by this pressing issue - youths.

So, what do the young think of the situation and the introduction of this baby hatch?

Azlina Irshad, 23

Ask anyone if they'd heard of someone getting pregnant before they were married and chances are they would have. It could have happened to a friend or a friend's friend who has a child out of wedlock.

It's sad but this is a fact of life: It's happening.

But if you asked me if these couples wanted to find themselves pregnant before marriage, I can tell you "no!". You don't need a genius to tell you that.

The problem at hand now is, what do you do about it? It goes without saying that the girl is going to get hell from her family. And she would have kept the secret of her pregnancy from them - concealing the bulge for as long as possible...

And if she manages to hide her pregnancy and carry the baby to full term, where do you think she would house it upon delivery? What choices are there for her? What would the fate of the innocent infant be?

I don't know what I'd do in that situation. People can do crazy things when they are not thinking straight and have no one to turn to for advice. But if there was a baby hatch, like the one that's recently been introduced, and I knew about it, I would make my way there to put the child in their care without being found out.

At least I know that my baby would be safe.

So yes, I am all for the baby hatch.

Nina Hazli, 24

Firstly, I would like to think and truly believe that any parent, if they found out that their daughter was pregnant without a responsible boyfriend, would support her right to the end. They would be shocked and devastated by the news initially. They would be angry and absolutely upset and bewildered. They would be embarrassed for the talk, gossip and endless tongue-wagging this situation would create amongst family and friends. But at the same time, they would also be supportive of their crestfallen daughter and would love the innocent child. After all it would be their grandchild.

But the person carrying the baby would not know this. All they have in their hearts would be the fear of being found out and the outcome of that. Because of this overwhelming feeling of panic, they may resort to dumping their babies, anywhere!

That's when you read about babies being found in dumpsters, thrown in plastic bags, found and bitten by dogs and other wild animals....

But if they knew about the baby hatch, they would surely try their best to leave their newborn in safe care.

This story of girls getting pregnant before marriage is nothing new to me. I have a friend and relative who found themselves in this situation; my friend was 20 and my cousin was 18 then.

They have both raised their kids with the support of their families. Initially, my cousin's boyfriend didn't want the child and was not even there when she delivered. She was alone in the hospital! And thank God she was in the hospital.

My cousin told me once that she had thought of disposing of the child somehow, but at the last minute, decided against it and plucked up the courage to go to the hospital and face the music later.

It was the same with my friend who had thoughts of abandoning her baby for fear of the "punishments" that awaited her. But she too decided to keep her child.

Still, these are just two cases of women who were courageous enough to face up to whatever wrong they had done. But I'm very sure that there are more out there who may be too afraid to allow their condition to be known to others close to them. And these are the mothers who would abandon their babies carelessly and out of desperation, if they weren't aware of the availability of something like a baby hatch.

So, I support the baby hatch idea. That baby is a life too. And it needs to be saved.

Haryati Azlan, 25

With any problem, you need to get to the root of it if you ever hoping to solve or eradicate it. You need to also see the cause and understand the effect, rather than blindly try to fix something when you are not really sure if you're going the right way about it.

Solving an issue by coming in from the middle may assist you with some answers, but they would only serve as a temporary solution in the long run.

I believe this is the same in the case of OrphanCare.

How is this helping refrain adolescents from making bad decisions or engaging in pre-marital sex?

Why doesn't anyone make noise about parenting, or the education system in Malaysia? Teaching the young how to use contraceptives and educating them about diseases they are risking.  Instead, we only see alternative diversions being created. Not addressing sex or not having sex education is one of the main reasons why young women get into these situations.

Remember women are emotional, men are physical. Sex education can teach a woman to say no, rather than give in to the man if he insists on having sex while she doesn't want it.

But that is just one of the things that proper sex education could impart to the young.

All in all, I think OrphanCARE is not the solution to the dumping of babies, but it is definitely a saviour for the babies. At least they have a chance to live.

Raneesha Raj, 20

I do not think the baby hatch will solve the issue of abandoned babies, but then again it's not its primary function. The baby hatch's focus is on giving the babies a chance to live.

It does not aim to tackle the issues of unsafe sex, which I believe the government, families and schools should be doing.

My mother was born out of wedlock due to racial and caste issues during her time. However, marriage wasn't very important to the poor back then as many couldn't afford it, so she didn't have any problems growing up. Marriage is just a piece of paper telling you that you're with someone, and I don't believe we need that to make a relationship official.

Unlike many people, I disagree that the hatch will prompt irresponsible behaviour because whether we like it or not, irresponsible sex and discarding unwanted babies will always take place, regardless of the existence of a baby hatch. If these issues were to be combated, (sex) education in schools and at home is the only way. Baby hatches are able to ensure the safety of the victims of irresponsible behaviour, which is the child itself. And we must stick it into our heads that that is the main purpose of the baby hatch.

I believe that the case of unwanted babies is a societal problem and less of a moral one, as sex is the most natural thing in the world, regardless of the manmade system of pre-marital or marital. However, the tight laws in Malaysia and the stigma about children out of wedlock is definitely a societal one. Those who discard babies are driven to the point of hopelessness and in their mind have no other choice. Therefore this problem must be tackled in a forward thinking manner, at the root of it. The debate about abortion shouldn't be a debate anymore, as the social structure is collapsing. It should be an available choice.

Some good efforts include the media now tackling this controversial issue. The main reasons why it is now being addressed is mainly because of the expanding number of cases which are constantly rising, and the fact that the government is finally realising this social issue, and is trying to find a solution.

The reason there may be some many unwanted babies is because of the lack of sex education amongst teenagers who are, despite attempts to stop it, sexually active. The taboo about sex amongst the elderly does not make it any less appealing to the young who will, and are, influenced by mainstream media. However, blaming the media is not an excuse as a person should know how to think responsibly and intelligently when it comes to sex. Therefore I believe the lack of education, and the unwillingness of people to talk about safe sex to the younger generation is the real issue at hand.

Cheryl Lee, 19

I definitely do not reckon that the hatch is encouraging the dumping of babies or suggesting acts of immorality such as premarital sex. In fact, I think it's organisations like these that will bring more awareness to the public, teens especially. It is more likely reminding them not to take pre-marital sex lightly, and to do the right thing.

At the same time, I have to admit that the increasing number of cases of unwanted babies disgusts me. If people are so desperate for sex, please be ready to bear the consequences and not abandon innocent lives. This is a major societal and moral problem. Dumping babies, like abortions, are done by people who have serious moral issues.

Getting to the gist of things, I say OrphanCARE is solving this ongoing problem to a certain extent. It might not save every orphan from being homeless, but it is at least addressing an issue that is otherwise being shoved aside by society.

Shireen Tan, 19

In my opinion, positive and negative consequences can come from the setting up of OrphanCARE. It'll be good in the sense that there is an assurance that the rate of abandoned babies will definitely decline and babies can have a chance to live rather than suffer desertion.

On the contrary, this move actually encourages pre-marital sex among young teens: being immature, they could be think that it is fine to have sex and if they do happen to get pregnant, there's always OrphanCARE to take care of things.

Different people have different moral values, which means, everyone has their own definition of what is bad or good. For example, having pre-marital sex might not be a fundamental issue for them, thus this could lead to having unwanted pregnancies.
It is evident that the new generations has categorised sex as a 'norm' and are casually having it without going through serious consideration. I am a teen and I have heard of many stories coming from people of my age. I know.

I believe the main reason for baby dumping is due to unexpected pregnancies happening to young, single mothers who never thought of having babies. Most mothers who abandon their babies do so because of financial constraints, society's prejudice and also the fact that their freedom of being carefree could be taken away if there is a baby in the picture.

I do not think having baby hatches will solve this problem entirely because there are bound to be people living in rural or village areas who might not have even heard of OrphanCARE. However, the rate of abandoned babies will certainly decline considering that such an institution is out to save them.

Mir Javeed, 19

The baby hatch is a very good idea, considering that the child gets another chance at life which is far better than being abandoned, dumped or left somewhere to die.

Not only will this centre stop young mothers with nowhere to turn to from ending their babies' lives but will also give childless couples some comfort in having babies.

Sadly, I believe many youngsters will look at this as a ticket to pre-marital sex without boundaries and this is exactly why the government should be open to the introduction of sex education to youngsters, most of whom are at a very curious, "let's-try- this" age.

Still, with the baby hatch, hopefully, we will hear less stories about people stuffing their newborn baby into the trash.