Whitehotpix/Zuma Press photo

A mother says goodbye to her child at a baby hatch in Guangzhou. Abandoning children is illegal in China, but there are now more than two dozen hatches in the mainland where parents can abandon infants safely and anonymously. Use of hatches is common elsewhere in the world, but China only began experimenting with them in 2011. Often families abandon children with diseases or disabilities. In two months, this hatch was overwhelmed with 262 abandoned youngsters—all of whom were ill or disabled.

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A mother says goodbye to her child at a baby hatch in Guangzhou. Abandoning children is illegal in China, but there are now more than two dozen hatches in the mainland where parents can abandon infants safely and anonymously. Use of hatches is common elsewhere in the world, but China only began experimenting with them in 2011. Often families abandon children with diseases or disabilities. In two months, this hatch was overwhelmed with 262 abandoned youngsters—all of whom were ill or disabled.