Postpartum Depression: A Valid Legal Defense?

We have seen them in the headlines "Woman kills her newborn baby". Headlines like these often grab the attention of the nation instantly. The media starts coming up with theories and makes these women out to be monsters. Months pass, until the trials begin. The prosecution wants the women locked up for life, but the defense has something else up its sleeve. The defense wants a hearing to determine the circumstances surrounding the crime and uses postpartum depression as a valid defense. This article will discuss the issue of postpartum depression and the validity of the illness as a legal defense.

What is postpartum depression? Postpartum depression is a natural and common part of giving birth. Postpartum depression is often referred to as the "baby blues" and usually only last a few days to a few weeks. In most cases, postpartum depression brings on symptoms of hopelessness, lack of appetite, and feeling lethargic. If these symptoms last for longer than a week or two, the woman may have a severe case of postpartum depression. When postpartum depression becomes so severe, the woman can often have hallucinates, become delusional or suicidal, and may become incapable of doing her daily duties.

When postpartum depression becomes severe, mothers can become irrational and fear their child or children are in harms way. They often feel they must save their children from whatever demons are plaguing them, sometimes resorting to killing their own children. These killings are usually violent and atrocious in nature, obviously sparking some concern about the mother's state of mind at the time of the event.

Postpartum depression would fall under the category of temporary insanity in the legal proceedings, but it was not recognized as a mental illness by the courts until 1994. Since it has become recognized in the courts, we have seen many cases spark the controversy over whether or not postpartum depression should be a valid form of defense. Some people believe the use of postpartum depression as a defense is just a way for murderers to get a break from the criminal justice system. Others believe it is a valid defense because no mother in her right mind would think of doing such an atrocious thing.

When Andrea Yates drowned her five children in 2001, she was found guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. Last year, she received a new trial and was found insane. The Andrea Yates case is different than other cases because she had a history of mental illness. Not only did she suffer from depression, but her mother had depression and her brother and father were both bipolar. It is clear Andrea Yates was insane and her delusions had been constant for months. But what about the woman who gives birth to her newborn daughter at work and passes off the baby's cries for a new cell phone ring tone. Then stuffs plastic tabs down the baby's throat and leaves her in a car in the dead of winter to die. Clearly, this woman knew right from wrong, yet her defense attorneys pushed for a guilty by temporary insanity plea. She was found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

The postpartum defense is not widely accepted in the criminal justice system, and as we all know, there is a lack of consistency across the board. It takes away the blame from the mother and places it on a mental disorder with little to no concern about the fact an innocent child was brutally murdered at the hands of his or her mother. The problem with the postpartum defense is it makes it hard for jurors to empathize with the defendant. This is often because the defendant has been treated and restored to a "right state of mind" prior to the trial. If there is going to be a defense designed to protect murderous mothers, should there not be one to protect murderous fathers?

Even though American courts have accepted postpartum depression as a valid defense, there is hardly any success to the claim. Just because they suffer from this illness does not mean they should be treated in a mental facility and returned to society when the doctors and judges say they are well. It is absurd. If a woman has the knowledge to call 911, following the murderous episode, they should know what they have done is wrong. In my opinion, giving mothers who kill a "free" day in court is absurd and it should not be allowed.