Private hospitals in France are considering whether to fix an electronic bracelet to the ankle of newly born babies, to alert to a possible kidnapping. The bracelet would be programmed to sound an alarm if the baby were taken out of the maternity unit.

The Parisian hospital of Montfermeil, in the Seine-Saint-Denis region, may be the first to have the new security system installed, by March 2008, at a cost of 100,000 Euros. Three babies have been taken unlawfully from the hospital, in 2002, 2005 and the most recent less than a month ago. Parents who refuse to allow a bracelet to be fitted, will be asked to sign a form releasing the hospital from any liability for kidnapping.

Guy-Marie Cousin, president of the French college of gynaecologists, said that kidnapping was a real danger in French hospitals and that the precaution was necessary. He pointed out that it would also eliminate the risk of babies being accidently given to the wrong parents. One of his colleagues, Francos Goffinet, disagreed, describing the proposal as an excessive reaction to a problem that was very rare. He also doubted whether the technology was as foolproof as had been suggested by the manufacturers.