JEDDAH, 30 September 2003 — Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Qassim Al-Qasabi has issued a directive to all hospitals advising that they should admit pregnant women only if they are accompanied by men who are prepared to take responsibility for both the mother and child.

The minister told the managerial health affairs office at the ministry to implement recommendations through a committee under the guidance of Interior Minister Prince Naif.

The committee, which consists of representatives from the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Health and the Red Crescent Society, met to come up with a humanitarian way of dealing with the problem of babies who are abandoned by their mothers at hospitals all over the Kingdom.

The directive, which is to be implemented immediately, says that the man accompanying the woman must supply a photocopy of his Saudi identification card, which is to be placed in the woman’s medical file, and also sign a document accepting responsibility for the mother and child.

In the event that a woman is admitted to a hospital’s emergency room and is not accompanied by a man, she is to be held at the hospital in specially designated rooms to prevent her escape.

The mother is to be placed under surveillance in the hospital until a man comes forward and takes responsibility for the well-being of mother and child.

If no one comes to claim responsibility for the woman, she is to be transferred to one of the Kingdom’s social service providers after the local police have been notified.

The ministries took the action after finding that most babies abandoned at Saudi hospitals were born to unmarried mothers.

“I’ve never heard of a case where an unmarried mother has given birth here,” Ali Al-Farsi, a senior administrator at Jeddah’s Maternity and Children’s Hospital, a large government institution, told Arab News yesterday.

“However, if that does happen, we are required to notify the police, who tell us what to do. We do not refuse treatment to anyone, but we do notify the authorities, and it is up to them to take action,” he added.

“We always have police on hand at the hospital for various reasons and we are required to carry out their directives. Notifying the authorities is not limited to single mothers but includes those without residence permits and other unusual circumstances,” he added.