INFANTICIDE. — From *infanticidium* (infans and caedo). It is the deliberate killing of a newborn. Strictly speaking, it is the intentional killing of a newborn by the mother or a family member to save the family’s honor. In this sense, it is understood by the majority of modern legal codes; hence the need for special consideration.
In Greece, deformed newborns were necessarily killed (Sparta), or the father had absolute power over his offspring (Athens).
In Rome, a mother who killed her newborn was considered guilty of murder and punished under the *Lex Cornelia* (Dig., 46, 9); the father, however, by virtue of *patria potestas*, could kill his children with impunity.
Christianity condemned infanticide from its earliest days (Pseudo-Barnabas, *Ep.*, 19; PG 2, 778; *Ep. ad Diognetum*, 5: ibid. 1174); the apologists opposed it with extreme vehemence, accusing pagans unsparingly of this vice (St. Justin, *I Apol.*, 27; PG 6, 370; Athenagoras, *Legatio*, 35: ibid. 970; Tertullian, *Apol.*, 9: CSEL, 69, p. 26; id., *Ad nationes*, 1, 16: ibid., XX, p. 87; Minucius Felix, *Octavius*, 30: ibid., II, p. 43; Clement of Alexandria, *Paedag.*, 3, 3: PG 8, 585; Lactantius, *Div. Inst.*, 6, 20: CSEL, 19, p. 559). The Fathers continued the struggle courageously (St. Basil, *Sermo* 24: PG 32, 1378–79; St. Ambrose, *Hexaemeron*, 6, 4: CSEL, 32, p. 218). In turn, councils imposed very severe penalties on those guilty of this crime (Council of Elvira [c. 305], can. 63; Council of Ancyra [314], can. 21; Council of Lerida [524], can. 2; Council of Mainz [847], can. 21). It must not be forgotten that, under the influence of the Church, the Roman emperors, beginning with Constantine, took a stand against infanticide.
In the Middle Ages and later, infanticide was ordinarily punished by death as a qualified homicide; but sometimes, taking into account the mother’s special psychological conditions—especially in cases of adulterine filiation—the death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment in a convent. Ecclesiastical sanctions for this crime remained very severe, as is evident from the *Decretals* of Gregory IX (1–3, *de his qui filios occiderunt*, V, 9).
The penal laws of individual modern States have made infanticide a separate issue, providing for a reduction of penalty in cases where a mother or a family member kills a newborn to preserve honor. Thus in Italy (Penal Code, art. 578). The moral consideration of direct infanticide (for indirect infanticide or child abandonment, V. INFANZIA ABBANDONATA) cannot be based on the principle of honor invoked by the State’s law. Infanticide is a grave sin. Indeed, the killing of a newborn by the mother or a family member is a qualified homicide, containing a twofold malice.
It is a grave sin against justice (Fifth Commandment), since in no case are parents or even relatives masters of the newborn’s life, which belongs to God alone. It is a grave sin against piety (Fourth Commandment), since parents cannot deny the newborn those goods which, by God’s will expressed in nature, they are called to provide, foremost among which is the preservation of life.
Nevertheless, in individual cases of infanticide, when the mother herself, in the immediate postpartum period, kills her child, the particular physiological and psychological circumstances of the mother must be taken into account, as they certainly influence her will, diminishing to some extent her freedom of choice and thus her moral responsibility. This will be judged according to objective norms and the special conditions that occurred, which carry considerable weight in determining a mother to commit infanticide.
For the accusation of infanticide leveled against Christians, V. ACCUSE CONTRO I CRISTIANI.
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Vittorio Maconi
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INFANTILISM. — A particular condition of an individual characterized by the persistence of developmental traits and characteristics into an age beyond puberty; this applies to stature and weight, particularly to deficient development of primary sexual characteristics and the more or less complete absence of secondary ones. To the physical and sexual picture of infantilism may be added a psychological one, with a degree of intelligence markedly inferior to that proper to the subject’s age.
There are different forms of infantilism depending on the causative factor; very often this is linked to defective function of a single or group of endocrine glands (pituitary, thyroid, adrenals, pancreas) or to a congenital or early-acquired heart defect. A particular form is mongolian infantilism, probably linked to defects in cerebral development (v. FRENESIA) combined with pluriglandular endocrine dysfunction.
Infantilism must not be confused with dwarfism, in which the individual, though presenting infantile physical proportions in adulthood, has normal—sometimes even exaggerated—sexual and intellectual development, thus appearing not as a child or youth, but as a miniature adult.
The degrees of infantilism vary according to the level at which the individual’s development is arrested; thus one speaks of infantilism in the strict sense, or puerilism, or persistent prepubescence.
Some forms of infantilism may respond to treatment, depending on the cause and the true age reached by the subject at the time of observation; in particular, forms linked to thyroid deficiency are susceptible to treatment and improvement.
Psychic infantilism, from an educational standpoint, must be treated and may benefit from the special methods used for mentally deficient minors (v.); from a moral standpoint, such individuals are to be considered capable of responsibility corresponding to their capacity to understand and to will, calculated according to the level of their apparent age.
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