Why Some Mothers Kill Their Children

Submitted by Matt on Wed, 2009-04-08 18:01

Article here. Excerpt:

'Rachel Summers, a Mufreesboro Tennessee woman is accused of poisoning her her own son to death. A 19 year old Cuban native, Mariafelix Morales is accused of killing the son she secretly gave birth to in her Shelbyville Tennessee home. Even in rural areas like these youll find these headlines. Although it seems unnatural for a woman to kill her own children it is not uncommon. More than 200 women kill their children in the US every year, according to a recent study by the American Anthropological Association.

Homicide is the leading cause of death in children under four. Not crib death as many believe and not by a maniacal stranger but by a parent. Deliberate killing of ones own infant has never been observed in wild primates. There is a direct correlation between the act and the human society. Women, for the most part, do not make the best criminals. FBI crime statistics show that women commit only two crimes as frequently as men. Shoplifting and the murder of their own children. Although women commit less than 13% of all violent crimes they are also responsible for about 50% of all parental murders.
...

Historically, the families survival is pivotal to the sacrifice of weaker children or female children. Infanticide has always soared in counties riddled with famine or during political unrest. African women on board slave ships killed their children. The amount of these cases will continue to grow each year until societal norms maintain that this is not rare behavior. Mother love is not universal. All women are not natural loving mothers. Nor does motherhood trump all illnesses and psychosis.'

No mention at all of other possible motivations... such as selfishness. And even if so many infanticides done by mothers are driven by psychological issues, why not say the same if the perp is the father? Arguably anyone who murders an infant is insane in some way. But it seems the sex of the killer decides whether or not they are treated as murderers or patients.

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Comments

According to this data - women kill far more children than do men.
Single mom households are the most dangerous place a child can grow up.

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm06/figure4_2.htm

oregon dad

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Submitted by oregon dad on Fri, 2009-04-10 01:03

I noticed the same "error" in the article. They still try to make it seem as if women commit slightly less murders of their children than men do.

Given this, can you trust any of the other "statistics"? I'm sure women commit more than just 13% of violent crimes and commit a LOT more shoplifting than men do.

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Submitted by Daringest on Fri, 2009-04-10 04:22

Ask ANY department store manager ANYWHERE what department experiences the most 'shrinkage' (product that gets taken out of inventory without any revenue added mostly due to theft) and you will hear the same answer 100% of the time - health and beauty (or other name for the same department). This will usually be followed by woman's wear, then jewelry.

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Submitted by Paragon on Sun, 2009-04-12 16:42