Beijing: Rural traditions of abandoning dead
infants may have played a role in the case of 21 babies bodies
found along a river in eastern China, apparently dumped by
hospital mortuary workers.
The little bodies, some stuffed in yellow bags marked
"medical waste", were found floating and strewn along the bank
of a river on the outskirts of Jining city in Shandong
province last weekend.
Police detained two mortuary workers at a hospital who
were paid by the babies` families to dispose of the bodies.
One question that arose today was why would the parents
of so many dead children simply abandon their remains?
Hospital procedures normally call for families to take
away dead infants, the Shandong province-based Qilu Evening
News reported. However, the death of a young child is
considered bad luck among some rural families, and the body is
often abandoned or buried in unmarked graves.
"According to customs in some places, dead infants are
not considered to be a family member and will not be buried in
family tombs," said Cao Yongfu, professor with Medical Ethic
Institute of Shandong University.
Some families would rather leave the body at the hospital
or pay someone to bury it, Ma Guanghai, deputy dean at
Shandong University`s School of Philosophy and Social
Development, was cited as saying by the official Xinhua News
Agency.
Some local customs go even further. When a baby dies, the
family burns its clothes, toys and photos, anything that would
remind them the child ever existed. The traditions stem from
China`s agrarian past, where child deaths were common, and not
considered something to dwell on.
Though the case has shocked the public, Cao said a more
pressing issue was developing clear regulations on how the
bodies of infants and foetuses should be disposed.
"It`s necessary for China to issue a legal explanation on
how to deal with the bodies of dead infants and foetuses,
otherwise it is possible there will be loopholes in hospital
management," he said.
PTI
