MOSCOW, October 10. /TASS/. The Russian government believes that the bill to ban the so-called "baby boxes" where mothers can anonymously leave unwanted infants, needs additional major work on it before the State Duma lower house of parliament discusses it, the government website said on Monday.
The government said the current version of the bill could bring forth a contradictory law-enforcement practice, including judicial, as to issue of bringing to responsibility for creating baby boxes.
Besides, the government believes the penalty for legal entities from 1 million rubles (about 16,048 US dollars) to 5 million rubles is excessive. Sanctions suspending the activity of a legal entity "can make it impossible for citizens to get medical aid, and as well as make social and educational services impossible for orphans and children without parental care, as at the present time the specially places for leaving infants anonymously are crated as a rule at medical organizations and organizations for orphans and children without parental support," the ministry said.
It also said that "in order to prevent abandonment of children after their birth, it is also necessary to adopt a set of measures within the National Strategy for Action on Children, including support for pregnant women finding themselves in a difficult life situation," it said.
The bill initiated by Yelena Mizulina from the upper house of parliament was submitted to the Duma lower house in August. The idea to create baby boxes has repeatedly generated both criticism and support. In Russia, they are installed in the Moscow, Vladimir, Kaliningrad, Krasnodar and Kamchatka regions as well as in some others. Perm in the Urals was the first Russian city to open a baby box.