Mother Accused of Slitting Baby's Throat (feminist professor - expostfacto abortion)

Fox News ^

[RockChucker]

She's a feminist. I am sure her beliefs about babies made the dirty deed a little easier.

[twigs]

This woman is director of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at Villanova University.

[twigs]

The child was six months old.

[twigs]

It sounds like your cousin had childbirth to trigger a horrible bout with depression. I am sorry to hear your story. How terrible for the family. I hope her children are surviving this...

[irgbar-man]

Where else but FR are you going to hear this factiod?

[Mo1]

Agreed, Even in my limited experience, the sleep deprivation alone was enough to make you unstable. Something snaps, that is for sure.

I disagree,
I had the baby blues with all my kids, lived on very few hours of sleep, I worked out of the home with my first and worked in my home with my second ..

I was completly wiped out from it all .. but never once did I think of harming my children.

I agree, PPD is real and needs to be addressed but it is no excuse for killing your child IMHO

[twigs]

I agree with you. I've lived with a number of women who have had emotional problems (probably from underlying chemical causes) and they have done some erratic things, but always knew the difference in right and wrong. One woman couldn't see reality for the life of her, but she would never have harmed anyone. I think the same thing is trud of PPD.

[MEG33]

I said that in a fit of horror at the deed.Politics has nothing to do with psychosis.It is not common though many women have post partum depression.I cannot fathom being so ill as to kill a baby by cutting it's throat although I accept psychosis as a legitimate condition.

I may hate a person's politics without blaming the mental condition of this woman on her politics.A real tragedy for the family.I'll leave it to the courts and to heaven.

[beckett]

I agree with those on the thread who recommend that we wait until all the facts are in before making judgements about the political implications of the case.

BUT as the case now reads, I think there is good reason to be very wary about a "post-partum depression" defense for the professor. First of all, depression, like anger, does not excuse murder --- never has, never will. Secondly, though, and more importantly possibly, I detect some elements of Singeresque (Peter Singer, utilitarian philosopher and infanticide proponent) planning in the professor's act, even possibly extending to the brutal manner in which the child's death was effected, so as to leave no doubt as to intention.

This professor may be looking to make a test case for infanticide, especially if, as was implied in the report, the child had a handicap of some kind.

[Mo1]

but always knew the difference in right and wrong.

Exactly ..

But I will say that jlogajan in post #38 has a point about drugs that are hallucinogenic

That is why I think PPD needs to be addressed because it is real .. but it is also not being handled properly IMO

[LexBaird]

Infanticide happens regardless of one's politics and has little to do with one's politics.

Infanticide is a sacrament of liberal politics. This one just made the error of commiting it post partum.

[cajungirl]

Post partum Psychosis can lead to infanticide. Those who didn't were fortunate. Their experience is not everyone's.

[LexBaird]

It is horrible that this baby is dead. What makes you think that it is a time to mock her?

The baby is dead because the mother MURDERED IT!!! She deserves far worse than mere mockery. A society that cannot condemn this act without trying to find excuses for the perpetrator is a dying society.

I have no pity for this woman at all. She deserves shunning, scorn, castigation, mockery, trial, and execution. It should be public and loud as a suitible object lesson for other women tempted to do the same crime.

It is high time people stopped equating having a "reason" for doing something (post-partum depression) with having an "excuse" for doing it.

[twigs]

I know that PPD is a real condition and needs to be treated. I will not argue about whether or not it leads to infanticide; I am not a professional medical person. But my past experience with people with chemically induced emotional problems leads me to believe that they do not lose their ability to tell right from wrong. I had one roommate who heard voices that told her to harm another roommate. But even in that circumstance, she knew that it was wrong and refrained. I just can't buy the argument that women can kill their children solely b/c of PPD, but I'm always open to change my mind in the face of new evidence.

[y2k_free_radical]

Very sad-we should pray for all concerned including her

[jlogajan]

But my past experience with people with chemically induced emotional problems leads me to believe that they do not lose their ability to tell right from wrong.

It is fortunate that such extremes are rare. Your experience base is good, but it can never be exhaustive.

[LexBaird]

Post partum Psychosis can lead to infanticide. Those who didn't were fortunate. Their experience is not everyone's.

You make it sound as if it is commonplace to murder your children. Anyone who survives her mother's emotional wobblies is just lucky? "Hey, it could happen to anyone! Your mom didn't kill you? Gee, how fortunate."

B.S. This woman knew what she was doing, knew she was wrong, and just didn't care. She murdered her own child to ease her own emotional pain. Her act forfeits any vestige of sympathy I might feel for her psychosis; better she had offed herself than kill an innocent baby.

If a woman is that psychotic, she should be removed from the child and not allowed access until she recovers.

Relatives feared Ener might end her own life. Recently, she had returned to St. Paul not only for a visit but also to get some rest.

"She was trying to get herself together," Wynkoop said. "The family has been very supportive of her during her struggle with depression. The family had offered to take care of the baby for a while."

It was obvious she was dangerously unstable. The family knew she was whacked. They should have demanded to take the baby. She should have never been given access to a defenseless child. They risked a child to be "supportive", and now the girl is dead.

Damn right, I'm judgemental. I wish more people were.

[jlogajan]

It is high time people stopped equating having a "reason" for doing something (post-partum depression) with having an "excuse" for doing it.

Excuse speaks to judgement. But if judgement is impaired, then "excuse" loses meaning. A rock rolls down a hill for a reason. The concept of "excuse" for its behavior does not apply in that domain. When the human brian malfunctions, the capacity for human judgement is lost. Behavior becomes random and irrational.

Of course we see people trying to get away with this as a defense when, in fact, they hadn't lost their judgement. But just because some seek to falsely use an insanity defense doesn't mean there really aren't people to whom it applies.

You want a simple solution to a complex problem.

[onehipdad]

Then there should be no problem placing her in a self-fulfilling position of helping others, within the US Dept. of Corrections.

[jlogajan]

Damn right, I'm judgemental.

Judgemental is not as much a problem as ignorance. One can be ignorant and judgemental or informed and judgemental. Being judgemental itself is no badge of honor.

[cajungirl]

Do a google search on post partum psychosis. It is a high risk condition for infanticide and is treated as such. Baby blues are not in the same league nor is non-psychotic depression. The telling of right from wrong depends on ones understanding of one's world and one's circumstances. That can become impaired with a psychosis and questions of right or wrong become skewed by misunderstanding and misperception of reality. Some of FR will argue with this and that is their right. I say they do not know much about this topic.