Discourage promiscuity to curb baby-dumping

Discouraging promiscuity and fornication will help reduce baby-dumping, say religious leaders.

PETALING JAYA: To curb the baby-dumping problem, efforts must be undertaken to discourage promiscuity, said religious leaders.

Former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said the issue must be tackled at the roots, where sex out of wedlock must be discouraged.

“Non-governmental organisations must play their part in discouraging a promiscuous lifestyle.

“However, when a woman is pregnant, we must provide her a place where she can give birth. The baby is innocent and the ones who have sinned are the parents,” Mohd Asri told FMT.

He added that more “ijtihad” (independent reasoning) must be done to curb the problem.

“We will be facing more of this problem as we encounter drastic social changes. Right now, we adopt the negative values of the West. But we fail to emulate the positive side of the West, for example, their technological advancement.

“Nevertheless, we have to tackle this problem from a religious point of view,” he said.

Rantau Panjang MP Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff blamed the lack of religious understanding and the collapse of the family institution as the cause of baby-dumping.

The PAS MP said laws to prevent fornication must be strengthened.

“Babies who are born out of wedlock are innocent thus society must adopt these infants,” she said.

She added that religious understanding could help to curb baby-dumping, which is “a big sin and condemned by God.”

Providing opportunities

Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM) general secretary Hermen Shastri said churches would counsel anyone who came with this problem.

He said they would find ways so that the baby could be kept by the mother.

“However, if that is not possible, the baby will be offered for adoption,” he added.

Shastri said religious groups should provide opportunities for those who faced the problem rather than blaming the people involved.

“We should counsel and help those who are pregnant outside marriage,” he said.

Herald Catholic Weekly editor Lawrence Andrew said women usually dump their babies because of embarrassment and the inability to bring up the child.

However, he said that no one had the right to destroy a life.

“We recognise the value and dignity of the person as life is sacred,” he added.

Andrew said it was important to inculcate good moral values in children.

“Children need to be educated so that they know that no one has the right to take away a life,” he said, adding that moral values must also be taught in school.

“Other than sex education, people need to be taught the sacredness of sex and life,” said Andrew.

Child-bearing is a gift

He said the easy access to pornography had been the reason why the sacredness of sex had been discarded.

He added that youngsters must be taught to think in a matured manner on the value of life.

“We need to help youngsters think in a matured manner and increase their belief in God because if we don’t our moral values weaken.

“God created the baby. Just like how you destroy nature, there are consequences. There will also be consequences if you take a baby’s life,” he said.

Hindu Sangam president RS Mohan Shan said many parents were suffering because they could not have babies so child-bearing is a gift and it was not right to dump infants.

Mohan said they would definitely help a pregnant woman if she wanted to deliver the baby.

“We will do all that is necessary to ensure a better life for the baby. A lot of parents are willing to adopt,” he said.

“From the religious point of view, pregnancy out of wedlock should not happen. But when it happens you cannot simply ignore the problem,” he said.

He added that it was important to give a good future for the baby.