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dateline: 18 March 2014

Baby Hatch Closes In China

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

  • baby hatch: a safe place for people to bring and leave their young
  • anonymous: without being known or identified by name
  • incubator: an enclosed heated bed for an infant in need
  • disabled: having mental or physical characteristics that affect one’s ability

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Baby Hatch Closes In China

A centre that allows parents to anonymously abandon an unwanted baby has been forced to close in China, due to overwhelming demand. The centre had received over 250 babies since January, and was unable to provide proper care for more children. the law against abandoning children in China, approximately 25 “baby hatch” centres have been opened in the country in the last 3 years. The of the centre is to prevent parents from leaving their unwanted baby . A baby hatch includes an incubator and a delayed alarm that goes off a short time after an infant has been left. Most of the babies that are left in the centres are ill or disabled and require expensive medical .

  1. What is a baby hatch?
  2. Why was one of the baby hatch centres in China forced to close?
  3. What common element do most of the abandoned babies have?

Discussion Question: Do you think centres like these save lives, or do you these centres make it too easy for parents to abandon their children?

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Written by Tara Benwell for EnglishClub
Tara Benwell is a Canadian freelance writer and editor who specializes in materials and articles for the ELT industry.

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