Calamities of Postpartum Psychosis: Ethical Decisions and Sentencing Postpartum depression affects about 10 to 22 per centum of adult females and every bit many as about 80 per centum of adult females suffer from some kind of “baby blues” . Even so. the much more serious job of postpartum psychosis merely occurs in every bit few as one in every five hundred births ( Williams. 2002 ) . Postpartum psychosis can hold ruinous results. like in the instance of Andrea Yates. What should go on to adult females like Andrea?
Prison. the decease punishment or a mental establishment? Ethical issues. such as postnatal psychosis offenses. are debated utilizing assorted theories of moralss. Postpartum psychosis tends to hold a rapid oncoming within the first four hebdomads after giving birth. whereas postpartum depression has a slower oncoming happening about hebdomads six through 12s after childbearing ( Williams. 2002 ) . In postnatal psychosis. the symptoms include temper alterations. delusional ideas. paranoia and hallucinations. Symptoms can escalate or decrease.
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Womans enduring are frequently afraid to inquire for aid due to the paranoia and guilt felt surround the upset. Left to pull off symptoms themselves. calamities frequently occur as affected adult females perpetrating self-destruction or infanticide. When such offenses occur. people debate how to cover with the adult females accused. Bing committed to a mental establishment is one class of action for such adult females. The statement for this is that these adult females are in demand of psychiatric intervention. that they are unable to separate between right or incorrect at the clip of act due to their altered position on world.
Andrea Yates. for illustration. believed that she had Satan inside her and that she was unable to raise the kids decently because of it ; that they couldn’t be saved and were traveling to fire in snake pit ( Roche. 2002 ) . Andrea believed that her being immorality was doing her kids to non be righteous and that she needed to be executed. The lone manner for that to go on was for Andrea to kill her kids. Womans accused of such offenses can acquire the aid they need in an establishment. where they are unable to harm themselves or their kids.
These adult females ever carry with them the horror and guilt for what they have done. once they are no longer vomit. Postpartum psychosis is a mental disablement and should be treated as such. It would be a immense unfairness to the affected adult females to be placed in prison. or worse yet sentenced to decease. The offenses that they commit. infanticide and the similar. are indefinable ; nevertheless it would non function them or society good to hold them locked up in prison and go on to endure from this unwellness. If placed in a mental establishment they may be rehabilitated into productive members of society one time once more.
However there are opposing positions on this topic. One of the opposing ideas is that the offenses are so flagitious that these adult females must pay requital for what they have done ( Anonymous. 2008 ) . Many believe that convicted adult females should be paying their debt to society from behind prison bars. that these adult females are a hazard to society like any other liquidator and should function clip consequently. Complicating the state of affairs are the indurate adult females who commit such offenses and so utilize postnatal psychosis as a defence when they are non enduring from this unwellness.
One illustration of uch would be Susan Smith. who lied about the disappearing of her two immature boies and so subsequently claimed that she suffered from postnatal depression doing her to kill her kids. Research workers on her instance found that she was dating a adult male who “wasn’t ready for a ready-made household ( Gibbs. Booth. Gregory. Monroe. & A ; Towle. 1994 ) . ” Therefore. uncertainty is cast in the heads of society and they see all infanticides as hideous offenses where justness must be sought for the guiltless victims. Perpetrating capital offices such as the slaying of kids and babies are offenses that are eligible for the decease punishment.
Due to the dismaying nature of the offenses committed many want to see the wrongdoer to be put to decease alternatively of blowing tax-payer dollars to maintain them in prison for life. This is merely another manner society seeks requital for these horrid offenses. Peoples believing that the adult females accused of these offenses are non truly mentally sick may hold a twosome of different point of views for make up one’s minding their destinies through condemning. Point of views on condemning convicted adult females to prison or the decease punishment may depend on Kantian and cultural relativism theories of moralss.
Kantian positions on moralss rely on ground to use categorical ethical rules ( Waller. 2008. pg. 21 ) . In using ground to the murdering of guiltless kids. ethically the convicted adult females belongs either in prison or sentenced to decease. Kantian positions believe in the “golden rule” – do to others what you would hold them make to you. Keeping that in head so the violent death of another individual would convey upon penalty to the accused. Kantian besides believes that we are responsible for our actions. good or bad. and is a merchandise of free will ( Caswell. 2006 ) .
In maintaining with this position so. these adult females are morally responsible and choose. due to liberate will. to stop their children’s life ; therefore they should be held accountable. Another theory that would back up imprisonment or decease punishment sentence. for non-believers of the adult females being genuinely mentally ill. would be cultural relativism. Cultural relativism is defined as ethical judgements made comparative to a given civilization. Cultural relativism is fundamentally the relativity of its society’s values. and slaying is incorrect no affair who is the victim. specially when it involves guiltless victims such as babies and kids.
Therefore. if the murdering of kids is incorrect so there should be person held accountable for the offense. It is difficult for society to conceive of that a kid could decease at the custodies of their ain female parent. Unfortunately. with the blood on the mother’s hands she is placed in forepart of the fire squad. so to talk. so that justness can be served for the kids. Under cultural relativism so. anyone convicted of such a offense should be punished to the fullest extent of the jurisprudence. But is this the right solution to the job?
Possibly taking on a more sympathetic position. such as attention moralss and intuitionists. can assist us in taking the right condemning for these adult females. Peoples who believe in attention moralss are more about caring for the individual than for justness for the offense ( Tong and Williams. 2009 ) . Women perpetrating these offenses need medical aid more than they need to be placed behind bars and people looking at this from the attention moralss point of view can see it this manner. They are non blinded by the demand for justness and have sympathy for non merely the guiltless victims. but besides the accused. The accused are victims in many ways besides.
These adult females have been let done by the medical community and some by their households who have seen the marks and have non gotten them aid before it had escalated into calamity. Care ethicists can see that there genuinely is a job and by puting the adult female behind bars or worse yet. condemning them to decease. there is a bigger calamity occurring: the continued victimization of a mentally sick adult female. Intuitionist feel they know what is the right thing to make. as in the Waller ( 2008 ) he told of Huck Finn debating over whether or non to turn in his friend Jim. a slave owned by person who had ever been sort to him.
Huck decided non to turn Jim in and allow him travel. cognizing that finally bondage is incorrect. This won over the fact that he was “stealing” Miz Watson’s belongings by assisting Jim flight. The same can be applied to the adult females that have committed offenses while enduring from postnatal psychosis. Intuitionists know that the act was incorrect and should necessitate requital for their offenses. However. the bigger issue is placing postnatal psychosis as a medical status and handling the accused consequently.
In decision. I believe that people taking non to acknowledge postnatal psychosis as a medical status seek out more terrible penalties for the offenses. In making so. Kantian positions and cultural relativism are two ways that they justify their beliefs on terrible condemning. Kantian positions are really rigorous and absolute – breaks a regulation. you need to be punished consequently. Cultural relativism is based on the social moralss. interrupt a social regulation penalty ensues. I believe this side of the argument merely wants to see justness done for the guiltless victims.
Whereas attention ethicians and intuitionists want justness. but they besides want what is per se right done. Sending the accused to prison or to decease row. does non supply justness for the guiltless victims. it would merely add to the family’s agony and make more victims. Care ethicists look at taking attention of the accused as opposed to being out for retaliation or justness. Intuitionists expression at what they feel is the right determination. and directing person off for a offense that they committed when they were non in control of themselves does non experience morally right to them.
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