eot
INFANTICIDE When I visited the hospital I knew that the birth had taken place about a week before, so I went prepared to see an almost completely recovered young mother, to admire the baby and chat hilariously about the shocks and indignities of the labour ward. It was normal visiting hours so it did not occur to me to ask a nurse if I could see her. Knowing the number of her room, I went straight up to the door and raised my hand to knock. Then I heard a low but quite desperate sobbing, which to my horror stopped on a catching of the breath and turned to a crescendo of screams that pealed down the corridor and brought a staff nurse hurrying to push me out of the way and close the door behind her. For a moment I caught sight of my friend's face, distraught and terrified, eyes screwed up tight. I did not need to be told what was the matter, I had seen this before; my normally placid, lighthearted friend was in a "toxic confusional state". When they had soothed her and given her a sedative we were allowed a few minutes' conversation; she was still restless and could talk of nothing but her fear and?as she saw it?her danger. "This time I was just thinking about the baby and I thought how dreadful it would be if I put my hands round his neck and squeezed the life out of him. Then I thought no, it would not really be dreadful, it would be the end and I wouldn't have to bother any more. I thought hard about how I could kill him and it wouldn't matter. Then I thought about thinking that, if you see what I mean and I panicked because I love him and it means I'm mad, and not only mad but homicidal so I screamed...." This girl was lucky. She had her baby in hospital, the medical staff had seen the trouble coming and taken precautions, the baby was not with her, she was watched to see that she did not attempt suicide. She would (and did) make a perfect recovery and have very little recollection of the trying ...
by Peggy
Edwards
I
^Uici( if
she had been throUa Others were not so lucky?freque11' we read of women who wake fr?' ^a this nightmare to find that they h3' sh killed their child, and who wake S
experience
prison.
Between 1906 and 1921, 60 won1' Wi accused of causing the death of tk? h newly-born child were in fact senteflc' P to be hanged, though in 59 of ' ^ cases the sentence was commuted. r first Infanticide Act of 1922 lessen this barbarity. If it could be pro*' t that the mother's mind was disturb' a from the effect of giving birth she co c be found guilty of the felony of inf^n o cide and punished as if guilty of ? slaughter. The Infanticide Act of 1" P tidied up the first Act and made t easier to interpret. Nothing since. s I do realise that there are c3s' where a mother, mentally sound t law, wants to get rid of her baby t personal or economic reasons 1 * therefore murders it. But in all I believe she should be brought befy a magistrate at the earliest posst?1. moment and sent where her me11' state can be competently examined ^ if necessary dealt with. We all know that childbirth is period of considerable mental emotional strain; probably nine wot11, out of 10 suffer to a greater or lesS' degree from post-natal depression, some time. They have to cope
^
abrupt glandular changes, a realisa*1' of new responsibilities coming du^ a period of physical weakness and, c?,; or sciously unconsciously, a tyfl weight of inherited superstition. ', happiest of mothers are frequently the edge of tears?all the more dt. cult, then, for a doctor visiting aft^
confinement to spot the 0, of the dangerous condition 11 can lead to tragedy, the acute forfl1., reproductive insanity that blows within hours. J I quote from a standard text-book?"The mother's tempera^! suddenly rises, she is restless and pressed, shortly she becomes intend home
signs
'
.
obstetrlC(i "j
12b
she may be both." she is alone she may just manage l fight her illness until help arrives sometimes the worst happens and ? eventually awakens from a night,.are of obsessional misery to find that e has killed her child. She will also f ^'ess bail has been granted) find in a prison hospital, usually Jlaout psychiatric treatment, without own doctor, and without the sup,rt of her family. I must quote again, ls time from Law Reform Now, a r book edited by Gerald Gardiner, and Andrew Martin, Ph.D.: "As J? ^w stands, infanticide or an to kill a child under 12 months *?a?t be dealt with summarily but 0 3^ on indictment. Apart from the to the mother's family, this results in serious strain to Mother at the very time when she be undergoing medical treatShe may be brought twice before tL Justices, first for the remand and bn for the taking of depositions. nally she is brought to trial after a t). '?d of (it may be) many weeks. this time she will be confined t0 r'ng a prison hospital unless bail is gr nted. In hospital she is usually with0ll Psychiatric treatment when it is in * needed. The trial itself imposes a y further strain on her mental state." d0 ^ave discussed this matter with lawyers and policemen, and ? found them almost without exCe c?nvinced that some alteration 'n "e law on these cases is long overd A high-ranking police officer told that these were some of the most
sir?-tional 'Cldal,
or
s.11
pr
QC^nt
jjp.,
CaernPt
pPQcaval t^0cedure ^?uld
>
ha^rs, tv!?n
mee'
1^
and
impulsive,
infanticidal,
or
distasteful cases with which he had to deal. "The police are very gentle with them," he said. "They save them all they can, but in a way that is what makes the dirt show?we have no particular reason to be kind to someone who kills a child unless we are convinced that they are more unfortunate than blameworthy." If any woman is accused of killing, or attempting to kill, her young child the procedure should be very simple. She should at once be placed under competent medical care until she is brought to trial, she should be remanded to an observation ward or mental hospital for a medical report and treatment if necessary, and her name should not be released to the Press unless guilty intent is proved. I know of a woman who in an acute state of depressive confusional insanity took a carving knife and cut off her baby's head. She, after surviving the present processes of the law, was sent to a mental hospital where she made a complete recovery. She now has four children of school age. The publicity, however (and you can imagine what a sensation this tragic and macabre affair caused), was so damaging that her husband had to sell for a song the business he had taken years to build up and move miles away, to start all over again. Often she and her husband must wonder if their children will ever come to hear of this gruesome chapter in her life. Could any other illness have such far-reaching results? Reprinted by courtesy of The Guardian. Originally published on Feb. 26, 1965.
INFANTICIDE When I visited the hospital I knew that the birth had taken place about a week before, so I went prepared to see an almost completely recovered young mother, to admire the baby and chat hilariously about the shocks and indignities of the labour ward. It was normal visiting hours so it did not occur to me to ask a nurse if I could see her. Knowing the number of her room, I went straight up to the door and raised my hand to knock. Then I heard a low but quite desperate sobbing, which to my horror stopped on a catching of the breath and turned to a crescendo of screams that pealed down the corridor and brought a staff nurse hurrying to push me out of the way and close the door behind her. For a moment I caught sight of my friend's face, distraught and terrified, eyes screwed up tight. I did not need to be told what was the matter, I had seen this before; my normally placid, lighthearted friend was in a "toxic confusional state". When they had soothed her and given her a sedative we were allowed a few minutes' conversation; she was still restless and could talk of nothing but her fear and?as she saw it?her danger. "This time I was just thinking about the baby and I thought how dreadful it would be if I put my hands round his neck and squeezed the life out of him. Then I thought no, it would not really be dreadful, it would be the end and I wouldn't have to bother any more. I thought hard about how I could kill him and it wouldn't matter. Then I thought about thinking that, if you see what I mean and I panicked because I love him and it means I'm mad, and not only mad but homicidal so I screamed...." This girl was lucky. She had her baby in hospital, the medical staff had seen the trouble coming and taken precautions, the baby was not with her, she was watched to see that she did not attempt suicide. She would (and did) make a perfect recovery and have very little recollection of the trying ...
by Peggy
Edwards
I
^Uici( if
she had been throUa Others were not so lucky?freque11' we read of women who wake fr?' ^a this nightmare to find that they h3' sh killed their child, and who wake S
experience
prison.
Between 1906 and 1921, 60 won1' Wi accused of causing the death of tk? h newly-born child were in fact senteflc' P to be hanged, though in 59 of ' ^ cases the sentence was commuted. r first Infanticide Act of 1922 lessen this barbarity. If it could be pro*' t that the mother's mind was disturb' a from the effect of giving birth she co c be found guilty of the felony of inf^n o cide and punished as if guilty of ? slaughter. The Infanticide Act of 1" P tidied up the first Act and made t easier to interpret. Nothing since. s I do realise that there are c3s' where a mother, mentally sound t law, wants to get rid of her baby t personal or economic reasons 1 * therefore murders it. But in all I believe she should be brought befy a magistrate at the earliest posst?1. moment and sent where her me11' state can be competently examined ^ if necessary dealt with. We all know that childbirth is period of considerable mental emotional strain; probably nine wot11, out of 10 suffer to a greater or lesS' degree from post-natal depression, some time. They have to cope
^
abrupt glandular changes, a realisa*1' of new responsibilities coming du^ a period of physical weakness and, c?,; or sciously unconsciously, a tyfl weight of inherited superstition. ', happiest of mothers are frequently the edge of tears?all the more dt. cult, then, for a doctor visiting aft^
confinement to spot the 0, of the dangerous condition 11 can lead to tragedy, the acute forfl1., reproductive insanity that blows within hours. J I quote from a standard text-book?"The mother's tempera^! suddenly rises, she is restless and pressed, shortly she becomes intend home
signs
'
.
obstetrlC(i "j
12b
she may be both." she is alone she may just manage l fight her illness until help arrives sometimes the worst happens and ? eventually awakens from a night,.are of obsessional misery to find that e has killed her child. She will also f ^'ess bail has been granted) find in a prison hospital, usually Jlaout psychiatric treatment, without own doctor, and without the sup,rt of her family. I must quote again, ls time from Law Reform Now, a r book edited by Gerald Gardiner, and Andrew Martin, Ph.D.: "As J? ^w stands, infanticide or an to kill a child under 12 months *?a?t be dealt with summarily but 0 3^ on indictment. Apart from the to the mother's family, this results in serious strain to Mother at the very time when she be undergoing medical treatShe may be brought twice before tL Justices, first for the remand and bn for the taking of depositions. nally she is brought to trial after a t). '?d of (it may be) many weeks. this time she will be confined t0 r'ng a prison hospital unless bail is gr nted. In hospital she is usually with0ll Psychiatric treatment when it is in * needed. The trial itself imposes a y further strain on her mental state." d0 ^ave discussed this matter with lawyers and policemen, and ? found them almost without exCe c?nvinced that some alteration 'n "e law on these cases is long overd A high-ranking police officer told that these were some of the most
sir?-tional 'Cldal,
or
s.11
pr
QC^nt
jjp.,
CaernPt
pPQcaval t^0cedure ^?uld
>
ha^rs, tv!?n
mee'
1^
and
impulsive,
infanticidal,
or
distasteful cases with which he had to deal. "The police are very gentle with them," he said. "They save them all they can, but in a way that is what makes the dirt show?we have no particular reason to be kind to someone who kills a child unless we are convinced that they are more unfortunate than blameworthy." If any woman is accused of killing, or attempting to kill, her young child the procedure should be very simple. She should at once be placed under competent medical care until she is brought to trial, she should be remanded to an observation ward or mental hospital for a medical report and treatment if necessary, and her name should not be released to the Press unless guilty intent is proved. I know of a woman who in an acute state of depressive confusional insanity took a carving knife and cut off her baby's head. She, after surviving the present processes of the law, was sent to a mental hospital where she made a complete recovery. She now has four children of school age. The publicity, however (and you can imagine what a sensation this tragic and macabre affair caused), was so damaging that her husband had to sell for a song the business he had taken years to build up and move miles away, to start all over again. Often she and her husband must wonder if their children will ever come to hear of this gruesome chapter in her life. Could any other illness have such far-reaching results? Reprinted by courtesy of The Guardian. Originally published on Feb. 26, 1965.
