Neonaticide is the killing of a newborn within the first twenty-four hours after birth. Neonaticide dates back to Bibilical times and it was appropriate and legal for fathers to have the right to murder their newborn babies on different basis. Over the generations, in different cultures it was also acceptable. The Chinese murdered their female newborns because they were unable to carry on the family name, were considered the weaker gender, and not useful in the workforce. Eskimos killed the infants that had congenital anomalies. Mohave Indians killed all newborns that were half-breeds. In today’s generation, neonaticide is frowned upon and immoral and unlawful.
According to Steven Pinker in “Why They Kill Their Newborns,” he tries to decipher the ethical and lawful lines of neonaticide. He states that “nurturing an offspring that carries our genes is the whole point of our existance” then counters different physcological theories that “a capacity of neonaticide is built into the biological design of our parental emotions.” I found his article thoroughly confusing and unexplainable. He did not give the complete medical and legal definition of neonaticide. He assumed that the reader knew what the definition was, and juggled between pros and cons. I do not know his stance on whether he is for the parental ability to kill a newborn or if he was trying to justify it as an illness if a parent did take the life of their baby.
Bruce Chapman constantly critisize’s Steven Pinker’s essay . He feels that Pinker does not believe teen mothers who kill there babys should get a harsh punishment. Chapman also feels that Pinker is twisting the evidence of neonaticide and that he doesn’t make it clear whether or not neonaticide is wrong.
I personally do not believe in neonaticide. I believe that if a female is old enough to carry and deliver a child, she should be mature enough to take the responsibility of carrying it and giving birth to it or to have an abortion. Delivering a baby to turn around and kill it in my opinion is immoral. The examples Pinker gives in his article examples of different women giving birth to their children and had different up bringings and could not be compared to each other. Amy Grossberg, 18-year-old that gave birth to her baby in a motel then killed the baby to leave it in a dumpster, was old enough to understand the consequences of her actions. Many states have laws that you can leave a newborn in a safe place, fire station or a hospital, and not be perscecuted for abandonment. Shanta Clark, 17-year-old that hid her newborn in her closet prior to her mother finding the baby, had the comfort of a home and parents that she resided with to help her take care of the baby or give the baby up for adoption. The end result is both of these teenagers gave birth to a baby and did not provide the care that they needed. Unfortunately, one resulted in a murder.
In my opinion, there should be litigation and consequences for murdering an infant, whether it is hours after birth, days, or years. Taking a life is inexcusable when there are so many other options and a way out. I do not agree with the “philosophers” that Pinker says “concluded that neonates are not persons, and thus neonaticide should not be classified as murder.” If a person can receive a murder sentence for murdering a pregnant woman and get two counts of murder, there should be the same laws for murdering an infant after delivery.
