Well yeah--"I am woman hear me roar" and all that -- But the point here is:
Andrea Yates was unable to take responsiblity for herself (or for her children) because of her mental state -- and a decent husband and father would have done something (anything !) about this and been there to protect the kids and help his wife (not because he was a chauvinist, but because he cared for & loved them)
There are very strict laws regarding committing someone to a mental institution against their will. There is no doubt that she should have been confined to an institution. Usually only the very wealthy have the option of placing a family member in a hospital for any length of time. There is no one size fits all solution to this tragedy.