To be horrified by the decision to prosecute this poor woman for murder

[Okonomiyaki]

Have we no compassion left FFS?

A woman in the US has been charged with murder after trying to commit suicide whilst pregnant.

www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/15/woman-attempted-suicide-pregnant-accused

This woman, who has been abandoned, who has broken down twice, who has tried to kill herself, who has given birth and watched her child die in pain, this woman deserves our COMPASSION, fgs. Not prosecution and potentially lifetime in jail.

This horrible misogynistic crap shames us all.

Sorry link
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/15/woman-attempted-suicide-pregnant-accused

She "attempted" suicide. She took a risk that it woudln't work and what she did was give birth to a child who had a horrific 4 days and then died. I can't pretend to feel pity compassion for her. No, sorry. I feel pretty devastated for the child though.

My feelings might be clouded by the fact that she sought help for herself though.. Maybe if she had attempted to kill her self in a more "certain" way and it had worked I would feel pity. RIght now all I can think is.. if life was so bad before when your bf left you that you tried to kill yourself..why is it worth living now that you killed your baby.

This is not the same as abortion though and I don't see how prosecuting one case should affect current abortion laws.

The article says she was persuaded to seek help. I don't think it can be assumed that this was solely on her own behalf.

And where does it says that she is not suicidal now her baby is dead? She's in jail, in segregation! She would be very hard pressed to harm herself there.

Re the effect on abortion laws, I assume that this case would set a precedent for prosecuting mothers whose actions while the child is in utero leads to the death of the baby.

I just think that the level of anguish which would lead to someone attempting to take their own life while pg is deserving of compassion, not condemnation.

*She was given treatment to counteract the poison and gave birth on New Year's Eve, but her daughter, Angel, suffered seizures and died after four days.

Shuai then had a second breakdown and spent a month in a psychiatric ward, after which she left to stay with friends and began rebuilding her life.*

So, she was very ill after the baby's death. I feel incredibly sorry for her.

This is a difficult question though. I am pro-choice but if someone stabbed me in the stomach while pregnant, I would want them prosecuted for murder. Not this poor, ill woman though. I can't really articulate why not.

MrsTP I think you articulate it well. It is not inconsistent to be pro-choice, to consider the situation you described as murder, and to also think that prosecuting this poor woman is inhumane.

She was ill, and suffered extreme mental distress both before and after the death of her baby. It horrified me to think of what she must be going through now.

I do of course feel terrible for the poor baby. I have my arm around my sleeping 6 month old right now. The idea of an innocent suffering is awful. Knowing what she put her child through is surely punishment enough for those who believe punishment is required.

Poor bloody woman, and poor poor baby.

But I tend to agree with the people in the article - it's another step along the way to outlawing abortion; and actually another step towards the situation in Mexico, where women can be and are jailed for having a miscarriage. Human rights activists are lobbying for change in Mexico, to STOP this happening - it's not going to help if America take a retrograde step and criminalise women who are in this situation.

It says as well that they are charging her with foeticide - but that makes no sense as the poor baby didn't die until it was 4d old, so that makes it infanticide. I presume they have established beyond all reasonable doubt that it was the chemicals the mother took that caused the baby to die? It doesn't say so in the article.

I really don't like the idea of the mother being prosecuted for murder - it sits badly with me.

Thumb bunny that's awful, I wasnt aware that is the case in Mexico. Terrible.

This thread has a lot of views on this, and there's also one in Feminism.

Thanks meditrina, think i need a course in effective searching

In America, or in some states, you can already be reported and put in jail for trying to order an alcoholic drink, or if you are thought to be using drugs. Then they remove baby at birth.

Im not condoning drinking or drugs in pregnancy obviously. Just pointing out that if thats already the case, probably didnt see it as a big step to lock up this woman, as it is deliberate and harming the baby.