CRI365H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Postpartum Period, Rational Agent
8 Aug 2022
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Last week, looked at development of canada"s infanticide law provides mitigation for homicides committed by mothers of their children under one year old, based on existence of mental distrubance. Arose initially as lay theory of mental disturbance in childbirth for mothers of children born out of wedlock bc juries would not convict for murder. Psychiatrists later pushed for extension up to one year to cover poor women w/ many children who had psychotic breaks due to malnourishment. Many critics point out society & psychiatry have moved on. Not the same pressure for children out of wedlock, access to birthcontrol. Psychiatry doesn"t talk about post partum mental illness in the same way. Somehow more irrational, emotional, more likely to be unstable intrinsic to being a woman. Bauman sets out traditional legal critique of infanticide law. Like faigman re: bws incorporates feminist inspired arugments, w/ subjectification component. Fundamentally a legal traditionalist though traditional legal thinking about the mind.
