"Sad that we as a society have come to this."
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"If it is the parents’ choice, why not leave it that way? Sad that they have to ruin another happy time of having a child."
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"Any parent who WANTS the announcement in the P-B will still be able to call the P-B to put it in. It will just not be something that Mayo will ... release."
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"Sadly, I think they are probably right in making this decision. I used to worry about obituaries having addresses, and they stopped that. And it’s too bad that they should probably stop printing addresses of the people having 80+ birthdays. What has happened to our world that we even have to be worrying about these things? So sad."
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"This decision will further marginalize the utility of old issues of the PB to historians and family tree fans from future generations."
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"It kind of reminds me of the institutionalized paranoia that inspired the old CCCP to do away with road maps and signs in select regions, for fear that dastardly (and mostly imaginary) western spies would use them to find their way around the Russian outback."
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"Paranoia was the exact word I was going to use. You beat me to it!"
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"I’m certainly glad my child was born when she was so family and friends could be aware. You can’t always call everyone!! And how is it that putting the announcement in the paper is increasing abduction risks? Isn’t that what the little ‘home detention’ band on their little ankles is for when they are in the hospital? Get real, its not like you’re posting the parents’ address right there in the paper!"
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"This is just another case of punish the innocent and coddle the criminals. Make the punishment fit the crime and people will not commit the crime."
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"I don't think it is paranoia at all. It is just SAFETY! If first and last names and the town are listed a phone book is all it takes. There are a lot of crazy people out there in our world today, and yes, it is sad. This is just a way for them to keep people safe..."
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"I don’t see the PB’s take on this. Seems to me, the day our kids were born, a person came to our room with a clipboard asking if we wanted to submit an announcement. We gave our names and it’s a girl. So, not really sure if it was Mayo ‘releasing’ the information as much as ‘gathering’ the information."
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"...There is so much security at Methodist that NO baby would be abducted... I even had to page security to even let me in the building to have the baby!"
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"There have always been a lot of crazy people out there, but today it is easier for them to find out about you and for you to hear about them."
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"...This is an over-reaction to a non-problem. Mayo could/can solve the ‘problem’ (i.e. any irrational fears)by merely waiting a few days — until new birth mothers have been discharged — before publication of announcements."
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"It has everything to do with security. The building isn’t just open to anyone if there isn’t a doorman sitting there and isn’t between visiting hours."
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"We better not submit an obituary anymore either. Someone might see it and then go rob the house before the family has the chance to go and clean it out."
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"...There is much too much private information out there in the hands of marketers and government agencies (not to mention identity thieves). We need to get our arms around this problem. For too long we have been cavalier about what info is available and who can access it. This is a good first step that Mayo understands it’s not their information to share, anyway."
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"I can see where some of the concern comes from, but it does strike me as borderline paranoid. Anyone desperate enough for a baby will commit their dastardly act regardless of the information available to them. Mayo (and other institutions) can prevent this by effectively enforcing their policies to physical access and identification..."
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"I think it should have been done a long time ago. Where do you think some of the people that have stolen children find out some of this information? If parents want to put in it the paper, no one is stopping them."
