Whose Rights Should Be Considered First: Infanticide in Nineteenth-Century England

Abstract

This paper aims at revealing the prevalence of infanticide in England in the nineteenth century. It is based on the diachronic study on both layers: those unmarried servants and married mothers suffering from puerperal insanity. Despite the harsh condemnation and law, professionals and public opinion took much more tolerant view of the act. It concludes that neither guilty suspected mothers nor new-born babies’ rights were effectively protected, thus drawing more attention upon infant life, which made the whole thing take on a new look.