Infanticide acceptable under Canadian law?

In 2005, 19 year old Katrina Effert of Alberta, Canada secretly gave birth to a baby boy.  She then strangled him and threw him over a fence.  After being found guilty of second degree murder in not one but two trials, however the verdicts were summarily thrown out in appeals court.  On Sept 9, 2011 walked out of court a free woman, with only a 3 year suspended sentence for infanticide, thanks to Justice Joanne Veit of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench.

Justice Veit cited Canada’s lack of abortion law, and stated “while many Canadians undoubtedly view abortion as a less than ideal solution to unprotected sex and unwanted pregnancy, they generally understand, accept and sympathize with the onerous demands pregnancy and childbirth exact from mothers, especially mothers without support.”  She also added “Naturally, Canadians are grieved by an infant’s death, especially at the hands of the infant’s mother, but Canadians also grieve for the mother.”

Under Canadian law, a charge of infanticide can be proven if the mother is “not fully recovered” from childbirth and there is evidence her mind was disturbed.  Yet Effert’s mind was never shown to be disturbed.  However despite Effert’s planning for the delivery by stocking the downstairs bathroom of her parents’ home with towels and a scissors in which to cut the umbilical cord, as well as her attempts to induce a miscarriage by smoking and drinking during her pregnancy, Veit insisted this was “a classic case of infanticide.” 

So apparently in Canada a newborn can be murdered and still be protected by “a woman’s freedom of choice.”  Peter Singer would be proud.