Infanticide: Some Medicolegal Considerations

Abstract

This paper presents some legal and medical-psychiatric considerations relating to the offence of infanticide. The history of this offence in the Criminal Code of Canada is reviewed. Highlights in the literature of post-partum psychosis are presented, and it is contended that the offence of infanticide as a separate entity is unnecessary and discriminatory. It is felt that it should be abolished and that Section 16 of the Criminal Code is sufficient to deal with the cases of infanticide resulting from post-partum psychosis.

Victim, perpetrator, family, and incident characteristics of infant and child homicide in the United States Air Force

“…Three general terms based on the age of the victims have been used in the family violence research literature to describe fatal abuse: neonaticide (e.g., Arboleda-Florez, 1976;Bonnet, 1993;D'Orban, 1979;Resnick, 1970), infanticide (e.g., Arboleda-Florez, 1975;Dumme, 1978;Hontela & Reddon, 1996), and filicide (e.g., Holden, Burland, & Lemmen, 1996;Husain & Daniel, 1984;Resnick, 1969). Typically, the neonaticide victim ranges in age from birth to 24 hours, the infanticide victim ranges in age from birth to 1 year, and the filicide victim ranges in age from birth to 18 years (Pitt & Bale, 1995).…”

Battered Children, Their Parents, Treatment and Prevention

“…The Greeks could dispose of their unwanted babies and many primitive peoples still use this as a method of population control. A Roman father could sell, abandon, sacrifice, devour, kill or dispose of his children as he liked (Arboleda-Florey 1975). Pepys beat his boy until he (Pepys) was out of breath, Calvinist parents were encouraged to whip their'imps of darkness' sometimes until they were 'dead and cold'.…”