Definition

In sociology and biology, infanticide is the practice of intentionally causing the death of
an infant of a given species by a member or members of the same species. Several
species other than homo sapiens commit infanticide, particularly fish and reptiles. One
perhaps surprising mammalian example is the bottlenose dolphin, which has been
reported to kill its young through impact injuries.[1]
Birth distinguishes infanticide from abortion; killing an unborn child or fetus signifies
abortion, but the act becomes infanticide upon birth. "Partial birth abortion," a non-
medical term applied to some late-term abortion procedures, seems to blur the line
between the two, hence the ensuing controversy and political debate. [2] As former U.S.
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan observed, "This is too close to infanticide." [3] While the
general population remains divided over the morality of abortion, most people consider
infanticide immoral.
In the United Kingdom, the Infanticide Act defines "infanticide" as a
specific crime committed by the mother only during the first twelve months of her infant's
life. This article deals with the broader notion of infanticide explained above.

Female infanticide in India has a history spanning centuries. Poverty, the dowry system,
births to unmarried women, deformed infants, famine, lack of support services and
maternal illnesses such as postpartum depression are among the causes that have been
proposed to explain the phenomenon of female infanticide in India.
Although infanticide has been criminalised in India, it remains an under-reported crime
due to the lack of reliable data. In 2010, the National Crime Records Bureau reported
approximately 100 male and female infanticides, producing an official rate of less than one
case of infanticide per million people.
The Indian practice of female infanticide and of sex-selective abortion have been cited to
explain in part a gender imbalance that has been reported as being increasingly distorted
since the 1991 Census of India, although there are also other influences that might affect
the trend.[1]

The People's Republic of China and its predecessors have a history of female
infanticide spanning 2000 years.[1][dubious – discuss] Worldwide, infanticide has been practiced
since antiquity for the purpose of population control.[1] It is an unsanctioned method of family
planning that has been condoned[who?] for centuries in the area until recent times.[citation
needed]The phenomenon is also referred to as female gendercide; however, the
word gendercide can be used for both sexes.[citation needed]

Specifically, it ensures that the Infanticide Act 1938 can be used in cases
where women have mental health conditions that predate the birth, providing
the birth made a sufficient contribution to her mentally disturbed state.
The infanticide law is commonly viewed as a defence for postnatal
depression or psychosis.Aug 3, 2018

PART THREE
LIFE IN CHRIST

SECTION TWO
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

CHAPTER TWO
"YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF"

ARTICLE 5
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT

You shall not kill.54

You have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You shall not kill: and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment." But I
say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment. 55

2258 "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it
remains for ever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life
from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to
destroy an innocent human being."56