vrtnieuws
Fri 24/02/06 -
There's a real possibility that a baby will be born in the Flemish Big Brother House. One of the contestants in the reality soap series is seven months pregnant.
(picture AP)
The new series starts on Sunday evening. A group of people will spend three months locked up in the Flemish Big Brother House in Vilvoorde (Flemish Brabant).
Some of the group - all volunteers - will be ejected before the end of the series, but it's quite possible that the pregnant participant will still be in the Big Brother House when she goes into labour.
A violation of children's rights
A spokesman for the commercial TV station broadcasting the series wonders what all the commotion is about. Mark Van Lombeek says that children are born in very different circumstances all over the world.
The station underlines that the Mum-to-be will receive all the professional care that she needs. What facilities will be available is not quite clear.
The Flemish children's rights commissioner Ankie Vandekerckhove argues that the well-being of a child cannot be reconciled with the ratings battle.
Vandermeersch wonders if the producers have struck a deal with the Labour Inspection, since there are legal restrictions on the use of children in TV programmes.
Philosopher Etienne Vermeersch of Ghent University says this is a clear violation of children's rights.
