Trinity College Dublin Infanticide in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Ireland Life In Modern Ireland Kelsey Imler Dr. Wallace 18 November 2016 Infanticide is just what the name implies—a homicide, or murder, of an infant. For the purposes of this essay, the broadest definition of infanticide will be used to include the murder of all babies under the age of one year. Infanticide was a very complex, multifaceted and unfortunately common issue in the Republic of Ireland in the ninetieth and twentieth centuries. In fact, “cases of attempted infant murder, infanticide or concealment of birth were detected on a weekly basis in the latter half of nineteenth-century Ireland” . This essay aims to examine key aspects of infanticide to give a comprehensive understanding of the problem and will do so by examining the work of different four historians. First, Carroll’s article, “Memorandum Re: Women and Girls Who Come before the Central Criminal Court on Serious Charges – And Other Relevant Matters”, will draw a detailed picture of what a typical infanticide case looked like from start to finish . Then, an examination of “Done to death by father or relatives’: Irish families and infanticide cases, 1922–1950” by Rattigan will show the major influence that the church and society had on women pregnant with illegitimate children and rates of infanticide . Next, “"The fellow said it was not harm and only tricks": The Role of the Father in Suspected Cases of Infanticide in
In this paper I will discus and examine Judith Jarvis Thomson’s view upon abortion as stated in her argument “A Defense of Abortion”. I will explain her view on the issue and look deeper into her supporting arguments she included in her essay. I will also explain whether I agree with her statements. I would also discuss whether the person can agree with my statements and reason why having an abortion make you in moral.
The Queen vs. Davis case concerns the murder trial of Arthur Paul Davis and Alice Davis that occurred in 1875. In it, they were tried and convicted of murder for conducting an abortion; the killing of a fetus and subsequently causing death of the victims, Catherine Laing and Jane Vaughn Gilmour. This essay will examine the historical context of the case, what the trial reveals about the nature of women’s lives in Toronto during the 1870s as subordinate women who are deemed as caretakers and how women managed to end unwanted pregnancies. During the late 19th century ending an unwanted pregnancy was an illegal offence because it was considered unethical to kill a fetus. Women were not able to access safer alternatives such as
Angus McLaren, author of “Illegal Operations: Women, Doctors, and Abortion” demonstrates the life of an abortionist in the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s. McLaren explains a series of affairs in detail with many different abortionists. Since abortion was illegal at the time, many women consulted midwives, or took the procedure of abortion among themselves, this at times resulted in their death.
Before the premises are argued for, the following assumptions must be made. I will follow the same assumptions that Judith Thompson made in her paper. These assumptions are that a fetus is considered a human and that this argument will exclude the extreme circumstances such as rape. Therefore, this paper will focus solely on consensual sex and the morals of abortion following such intercourse, even in the case of dangers to the mothers’ life.
In his essay Why Abortion is Immoral Don Marquis attempts to argue that abortion is almost always wrong except for a few special circumstances such as when the life of the mother is being threatened by the pregnancy. In his thesis Marquis asserts that abortion is in the same moral category as killing an innocent adult human being and the ethics of abortion is solvable. The strongest argument that Marquis presents to defend his thesis is the claim that what makes killing wrong is the loss of the victim’s future. In this paper, I will argue that this argument fails because aborting a fetus is not in the same moral category as killing an innocent adult human being.
This “preview” to the overall bigger picture that the story is trying to tell demonstrates the power of abortion and the ripple effects that it can have. The authors utilize ethos, pathos, and logos in this example. The purpose of this portion of the chapter is to “preview” the main idea of the chapter, even if the reader does not know it yet. The author’s also use a historical example to help establish precedent and to help establish credibility for themselves – a prime example of ethos. The emotional appeal in this portion of the chapter is certainly present; one cannot help but feel for the parents and children living under the harsh conditions of Ceausecu’s regime. Whether or not the reader knows it at the time, this “preview” section is used to establish the main idea of the entire chapter in a unique way.
Violence, terror, suffering and death. The conflict that has been burning in Northern Ireland seems to be an unstoppable battle and it has flooded over the land of Northern Ireland. The struggle for power and the persistence of greed have fueled the raging fires of the opposing groups. The conflict in Northern Ireland has been discussed continually over the past few decades. Ever since the beginning of the “Troubles,” organizations have been scavenging to find a plan that will cease the violence. Throughout my research for this project, the questions of what are the main sources of conflict in Northern Ireland and why have they continued today guided me to many fascinating pieces of evidence that
for the simple fact that it is not legal. But in my opinion women and
Abortion is one of the most controversial topics of all times. The definition most people associate with abortion is the termination of unwanted pregnancy. In their essay, “The Wrong of Abortion”, Patrick Lee and Robert P. George argue that intentional abortion is unjust and therefore objectively immoral no matter the circumstances. Also, they argue that “the burden of carrying the baby is significantly less than the harm the baby would suffer by being killed; the mother and father have a special responsibility to the child; it follows that intentional abortion (even in few cases where the baby’s death is an unintended but foreseen side effect) is unjust ” (24).
Based on the view that the fetus is already a small baby, some extreme anti-abortionists would maintain that abortion is impermissible even to save the mothers life. The rationale behind this view would be that the child is innocent, and killing the child would be active, on the other hand, letting the mother die would be passive. This introduces two new concepts, the first being the mother’s rights in competition to those of the fetus and the second being the question of innocence and how we would define this (Langley).
In the Merriam Webster dictionary, infanticide is a term described as the act of killing an infant. Other sources describe it as the act of killing one’s own child, or killing of a child less than 12 months old. Female infanticide is more common than the killing of male offspring. More often than not, it is the mother who does the killing.
It is regrettable that female infanticide and foeticide are rapidly decreasing the female population throughout India. The main factors that is responsible for the increase in the incidence of female infanticide and foeticide is the low status of women, son preference, and the practice of dowry across all casts groups.
The universal mentality when it comes to defining homicide is similar in the way that homicide occurs when one human being kills another human being. There are a variety of subtypes of homicide, which include murder, manslaughter, euthanasia justifiable homicide, killing in war and execution, depending on the circumstances of the death. These different types of homicides are often treated very differently in today’s societies; some are considered crimes, while others are permitted or even ordered by the courts. A highly controversial issue is whether abortion is considered to be homicide and whether the fetus is considered a human being entitled to rights. This paper will discuss the various interpretations of homicide, the three types of culpable homicide and Durkheim’s theory of homicide.
James Joyce’s book of short stories entitled Dubliners examines feminism and the role of women in Irish society. The author is ahead of his time by bringing women to the forefront of his stories and using them to show major roles and flaws in Irish society, specifically in “Eveline” and “The Boarding House”. James Joyce portrays women as victims who are forced to assume a leading and somewhat patriarchal role in their families. He uses them to show the paralysis of his native land Ireland, and the disruption in social order that is caused by the constant cycle of abuse that he finds commonplace in Ireland. Joyce is trying to end the Victorian and archaic view of
Seamus Heaney is a widely celebrated poet from Northern Ireland and was well known for writing about his culture and song-like pieces that touched on historical and ethical natures. In “Punishment”, the piece focuses on the image of a dead girl, now a preserved piece of history, who was supposedly killed for committing adultery in Germany. In the dark, dramatic, and historical poem “Punishment” by Seamus Heaney, he uses overt words and phrasing, internal rhyme, as well as alliteration, metaphors, and other literary devices to uncover the brutality, injustice, and chilling exposedness of the murder of the young girl, who is the subject of the piece.