Andrea Yates Research Paper

In our society killing one’s own child would be looked at as a horrific act. The bond between a mother and child should be unbreakable. What could possibly motivate someone to do something so terrible to his or her child? In the case of Andrea Yates there were multiple factors, including her mental health, which ultimately caused her to take the lives of her children. Infanticide, which is killing one’s own child, has not always been regarded as an act of horror, even in the U.S. There are numerous factors that can play into infanticide in the United States but in China it is mostly related to the heavy population and the culture. The United States has been progressive in trying to stop infanticide, whereas in China it is widely accepted and practiced.
To better understand we need to know what infanticide is, and how it can be viewed worldwide.

She killed her five children, ages ranging from seven years old to six months old by drowning them in the bathtub. Her family history of mental illness as well as her upbringing contributed to the incident. She was raised as a Roman Catholic and part of the reason why she killed her children was because “…she had been marked by Satan and the only way to save her children from hell was to kill them.” Her family’s religious views brought in the idea that parents are responsible for their children’s afterlife path, if they went to heaven or hell. (McLellan) Her mental state was fragile even before the birth of her youngest child, and it continued to worsen after. She was admitted several times to mental institutes for suicide attempts or catatonic episodes, where she was prescribed antipsychotics and sent home. She stated she had been thinking about killing her children for about two years prior to committing the murders. (McLellan) Her mental state paired with her religious upbringing was contributing factors to her children’s