The ‘Birth Notification System’, which automatically reports birth facts and related information of children born in medical institutions to local governments, began on the 19th. This means that all children born in hospitals can now receive protection from the public system regardless of whether their parents have registered their birth.
In addition, the ‘Crisis Pregnancy Support and Protective Childbirth System’ will be implemented at the same time, which will allow crisis pregnant women who have difficulty raising their children to give birth under a pseudonym at a medical institution.
The birth notification system is based on the principle that when a child is born in a medical institution, the fact of the child’s birth and birth information are immediately reported to the local government. This is to improve the situation where children who have not been registered at birth are exposed to abuse or abandonment outside the public system.
Medical institutions are required to report information on newborn children to the city, town, or county within 14 days of birth. This is a system in which information entered into the electronic medical record system by individual hospitals is automatically reported to the family relationship registration system without the reporting person or medical institution having to take any special measures.
If the birth information of a child is reported to the city, town, or county, but the person obligated to report does not report the birth within one month of birth, the city, town, or county shall notify the person obligated to report the birth of the child within 7 days. If the birth is not reported thereafter or the person obligated to report cannot be identified, the city, town, or county shall register the birth ex officio.
If the birth notification system is implemented, all children born in medical institutions will be protected by the public system.
However, there is concern that some pregnant women in crisis who are reluctant to tell others about their pregnancy and childbirth may give birth outside of medical institutions and abandon their babies, so a ‘protected childbirth system’ is also being implemented. The purpose of the protected childbirth system is to allow pregnant women in crisis who are in difficult situations to receive prenatal checkups and give birth under a false name at a medical institution and even notify the birth.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to operate a customized counseling system so that women in crisis can decide to raise their children in their original families as much as possible before deciding to have a protected childbirth. Starting today, 16 regional counseling centers for women in crisis and the 1308 counseling hotline will be operated nationwide.
If a pregnant woman in crisis still wants to have a protected birth after the consultation, the local counseling agency can provide further consultation on the following: △the legal effects of the protected birth procedure and loss of parental rights, △the child’s right to know and the impact on the child’s development when the right to know is not met, etc., and then apply for a protected birth.
Upon application, a management number that can replace the alias and resident registration number is created, and pregnant women can use this alias and management number to receive prenatal checkups and give birth at medical institutions without revealing their identity.
After a child is born through a protected birth, the pregnant woman can hand the child over to a local government child protection officer after a period of consideration of at least 7 days for raising the child in the original family. The local government that receives the child will then take steps for adoption or other protection.
However, a pregnant woman who has applied for a protected childbirth can withdraw the protected childbirth before the child is born and receives permission for adoption under the Special Adoption Act.
When applying for a protected birth, a pregnant woman must write down her name, contact information, and the circumstances leading up to choosing a protected birth. The documents written at this time will be permanently stored at the Child Rights Protection Center, and a child born through a protected birth can request the disclosure of these documents after becoming an adult or with the consent of a legal representative.
If the biological mother consents at this time, the entire document will be disclosed. If the biological mother does not consent or consent cannot be confirmed, the document will be disclosed except for personal information.
Source: www.nextdaily.co.kr
