Dear Editor
South Africa is facing a tragic crisis: for every one abandoned baby found alive, two are found dead. Unsafe baby abandonment is a heartbreaking reality, and desperate newborns are dying because the government has failed to provide safe legal avenues for mothers in crisis. This is why the Democratic Alliance’s proposed Safe Relinquishment Bill is so urgently needed.
This Bill offers a humane and life-saving solution. The notice of intention to introduce this Bill was gazetted on 17 October 2025, inviting public comment before 16 November 2025.
The Bill seeks to legalise safe relinquishment, protect baby savers operated by registered child protection organisations, and designate baby safe havens across South Africa.
It will protect every newborn’s right to life, safety, care, and protection while supporting desperate mothers in crisis.
In contrast, the Department of Social Development’s (DSD) Draft Children’s Amendment Bill, published on 26 September 2025, takes the opposite approach. It proposes to criminalise safe relinquishment by redefining an “abandoned child” to include one “relinquished or placed in a baby box.”
If passed, this would force the closure of baby saver facilities that have already saved more than 600 babies and drive more mothers to unsafe, desperate acts of abandonment.
The DA calls on the Minister of Social Development to withdraw these harmful proposed changes and to instead support the DA’s Safe Relinquishment Bill, which is grounded in compassion, backed by research, and aligned with international best practice.
South Africa needs laws that protect babies, not punish them. The DA’s Safe Relinquishment Bill faces this painful reality with humanity, safety, and hope.
We encourage the public to submit written representations on the proposed content of the DA’s Bill before 16 November 2025: pmg.org.za/call-for-comment/1633/.
Regards
Alexandra Abrahams MP
DA Spokesperson on Social Development