hl'l iNAUiiUft&ij xJl'6oKiixx±Tj.0l s i M-MV^I jbai Columbia itoittfrgftp College of iPtipstcians anb burgeon* Htbrarp AN INAUGURAL DISSERTATION ON INFANTICIDE; SUBMITTED TO THE EXAMINATION OF SAMUEL BARD, M.D. LX.D. PRESIDEiNT, AND THE TRUSTEES AND PROFESSORS OP THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW-YORK ; PUBLICKLY DEFENDED, DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MEDICINE, BY JOHN B. BECK, A. M. SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE MEDICO-CHTRURGICAL SOCIETY, AND MEMBER OF THE LYCEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. icus studium Jurisprudentiae, nee Jurisconsultus studium Medicinae plant -Albtrti. JVEW-YORK: PRINTED BY J. 8EYMOUR, NO. 49 JOHN-STREET. 1817.' /f>/7 Printed under the authority of the College of Physicians and SurgeoDS as the Statute direct? TO THE REV. JOHN B. ROMEYN, D.D. THIS DISSERTATION IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, WITH EVERY FEELING OF GRATITUDE AND AFFECTION, BY HIS NEPHEW, JOHN B. BECK. II AVID HOSACK, m.d. f.r.s, l.& e. f.l.s. PROFESSOR OF THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF PHYSIC, AND OF MIDWIFERY, ■IN THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS OP THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW-YORK, &C. &C. THIS DISSERTATION IS DEDICATED, NO LESS FOR HIS DISTINGUISHED EMINENCE AS A PHYSICIAN, THAN FOR THE UNIFORM FRIENDSHIP WHICH HE HAS MANIFESTED TOWARDS HIS PUPIL, THE AUTHOR, Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Open Knowledge Commons http://www.archive.org/details/inauguraldissert01beck 10 THEODERICK ROMEYN BECK. 3I.D. FE.CFES50K CF TEE THEORY AXD PRACTICE OF PHYSIC. tZf TEE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AZfTJ SrRGEO«S II THE VXIYKKSm OF THE ;TATE OF 5EW-T0RK. ESTABLISHED AT FATE FIELD. fcc i Trtovctog. " A man, though poor, will not expose a son; but if rich, he will scarcely preserve a daughter." Thebes , however, exhibited a noble contrast to the rest of Greece. By one of her laws, it was expressly forbidden to imitate the other Grecian cities, who ex- posed their children at their birth§. But of all the nations of antiquity, the Romans were the most unrelenting in their treatment of infants. The Roman father was invested with an absolute authority * Travels of Anacharsis, vol, 6. p. 270. f Ibid. vol. 4. p. 342. J Vide Quarterly Rev. vol. 2. p. 389. for quotations from Terence and Plautus. § Travels of Anacharsis, vol. 3. p. 277. 17 over the lives and fortunes of his children*, and we have abundance of testimony to show that the right was commonly exercised. This barbarous prerogative was co-eval with the existence of Rome, and continued to triumph over justice and humanity during the lapse of many ages, until Christianity wrested it from her. Romulus authorized the destruction of all children that were deformed. He, however, required the pa- rents to exhibit them to their five nearest neighbours, and to obtain their consent to their deathf. The law of the Twelve Tables, enacted in the 301st year of Rome, sanctioned the same barbarous practice]:. After this, even the slight restrictions which Romulus had imposed upon parents, appear to have been removed, and an unqualified jurisdiction surrendered to the fa- ther over the lives of his children, even after they had arrived to years of maturity. Sallust mentions an in- stance of the latter : Fuere tamen extra conjurationem complures, qui ad Catalinam initio profecti sunt : in his A. Fulvius, senatoris filius; quern retractum ex itinere, parens jus sit necari. Sallust. Cat. xxxix. The procuring of abortion, which can be considered no less than murder, was also notoriously prevalent among the Romans. Juvenal thus speaks of that ne= farious practice : Hoe tamen et partus subeunt discrimen et omnes Nutricis tolerant, fortuna urgente, labores Sed jacet aurato idx ulla puerpera lecto ; * The right of parents over their children is thus stated in the Justinian Institutes, Lib. 1 . Tit. ix. p. 22. Cooper's edit. Jus autem potestatis, quod in liberos habemus, proprium est civium Roinanorum ; nulli enim alii sunt homines, qui talem in liberos habeant potestatem, qualem nos habemus. t Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws, vol. 1. p. 104. Lond. i Cooper's Justinian, p. 659, 18 Tantum artes hujus, tantum medic amina possunt, Quoe steriles facit, atque homines in "ventre necandos Conducit*. Juv. Sat. vi. v. 592. Minueius Felix thus describes the barbarity of the Romans hi this respect : " I see you exposing your " infants to wild beasts and birds, or strangling them " after the most miserable manner. Nay, some of you " will not give them the liberty to be born, but by i; cruel potions procure abortion, and smother the hope- " ful beginning of what would come to be a man, in his " mother's wombf." Plinv the Elder himself defends the right of pa- rents to destroy their children, upon the ground of its being necessary to preserve the increase of popula- tion within proper bounds. Such was the practice of ancient Rome from her first origin down to the time of Constantine the Great. During the days of her greatest political grandeur it was carried to the highest excess; and whilst she was boasting of her refinement, and casting the opprobrious epithet of barbarian on all around her, she w r as guilty of the basest profligacy, and the most hardened cruelty. Christianity first opposed a barrier to the desolations of this crime: her mild and hu- mane spirit could not but discountenance it; and acc- ordingly it animated all who were arrayed un- der her peaceful banners, to exert their energies in * " Yet these, though poor, the pain of childbed bear. And without nurses their own infants rear. You seldom hear of the rich mantle spread For the babe, born in the great lady's bed. Such is the power of herbs ; such arts they use To make them barren, or their fruit to lose." DrydtrOs Juvenal. i Octav. Minucii Felicis. eh. xxx. 19 arresting its progress, The Christian writers of that day are full on this point. Tertuilian, in his Apology, expresses himself with heroic boldness on this subject; " How many of you," (addressing himself to the Ro- man people, and to the governors of cities and pro- vinces,) " might 1 deservedly charge with infant mur- " der ; and not only so, but among the different kinds ** of death, for choosing some of the crudest for their " own children, such as drowning or starving with cold 44 or hunger, or exposing to the mercy of dogs ; dj ing " by the sword being too sweet a citath for children, 44 and such as a man would choose to fall by sooner 44 than any other ways of violence. But Christians " now are so far from homicide, that with them it is 44 utterly unlawful to make away a child in the womb, " when nature is in deliberation about the man; for " to kill a child before it is born, is to commit murder " by way of advance; and there is no difference, whe- 4f ther you destroy a child in its formation, or after it " is formed and delivered ; for we Christians look " upon him as a man who is one in embryo ; for he is ;4 a being like the fruit in blossom, and in a little time " would have been a perfect man, had nature met with 44 no disturbances*." In A. D. 31o, Constantino the Great enacted a law providing for the maintainance and education of those children whose parents were too poor to do the samef. He also ordered a severe punishment to be inflicted on a cruel father. This was the first time that the au- thority of the government had interposed to arrest this crime ; and it is not to be supposed, that a custom which had become so familiar to all the habits and feel- * Tertull. Apol. ch. ix. t Ant. Univ. Hist. vol. xv. p. 576. C 20 ings of the Roman people would be immediately sup- pressed : and accordingly we find that it still continued to prevail^ though in a less degree, until the end of the 4th century, when it was finally exterminated by the Emperors Valentinian, Valens, and Gratian. The Phenicians and Carthagenians were in the ha- bit of sacrificing infants to their gods. The latter had a law by which four children* of noble birth were re- gularly immolated upon the altars of Saturn. History records a melancholy instance of the superstition and cruelty of these deluded people. It is related, that they attributed their defeat by Agaihocles, king of Sicily, to an omission of these sacrifices, and in order to atone for their past neglect, they offered up, at one time, two hundred of the sons of their nobility. Silius Italicus notices this custom : 11 Mos fuit in populis, quos condidit Advena Dido, Poscere caede deos veniam, ac flagrantibus aris (Infandum dictu) parvos iinponere natos." Lib. 4. The ancient Germans ^ although in the habit of sacri- ficing prisoners taken in battle, do not appear to have been addicted to the crime of infanticide. Tacitus, in describing their manners, mentions a contrary practice as one of the peculiarities distinguishing their charac- ter : ;i Numerum liberorum finire, ant quenquain ex " agnatis necare, fiagitium habeturf," Among the Visigoths, the murder of infants was a common crime. Chindaswinthus, one of their kings, in his laws, describes the procuring of abortion, as well as the murder of children after they are born, as prac- tices that were prevalent in the provinces, and denoun- ced severe penalties on the perpetrators of those crimesj. * An. Univ. Hist. voi. xvii. p. 257. t De Morib. Germ. xix. t Kyan on the Effects of Religion on Mankind, p. 110. 21 But infanticide was not confined to the ancients. It has descended to modern nations, and at the present day disgraces Eastern and Southern Asia by its enormities. The Chinese are notorious for their cold indiffer- ence in the exposure and murder of their children. According to Mr. Barrow, the number of children exposed in Pekin alone, amounts to 9000 annual- ly. No law exists to prevent it. On the contra- ry, it appears rather to be encouraged, inasmuch as persons are employed by the police of the city to go through the different streets every morning in carts, to pick up all the children that may have been thrown out during the night " No inquiries are made; but " the bodies are carried to a common pit without the " walls of the city, into which all, whether dead or " living, are promiscuously thrown*." The practice is not confined to the Capital ; it prevails also in other parts of the country. It is calculated that the number of infants destroyed in Pekin, are about equal to that of all the rest of the empiref. Almost all those that are exposed are females. The causes assigned for its prevalence, are extreme poverty, arising from an overgrowth of population; frequent and dreadful famines springing from the same cause; the natural coldness of affection in the Chinese ; to- gether with the sanction of custom, and the want of any law forbidding it. Among the Hindoos, infanticide presents itself in a form still more horrible. It is incorporated into their system of religion, and its atrocities are beyond de- scription. The blood of their infants seems to have * Barrow's Travels in China, p. 113. Am. Ed. t Ibid. 114. Vide also De Pjluw's Philosophical Dissert, on the Egyptians and Chinese 22< quenched completely the sacred flame of humanity; while the lights of reason and truth are extinguished by the absurdities of superstition. This crime has exist- ed among them for at least 2000 years ; for Greek and Roman Historians notice it, and refer to some of the very places where it is now known to exist*. The num- ber of infantile murders in the provinces of Cutch and Guzerat alone, amounted, according to the lowest cal- culation in 1807, to 3000 annually t- According to an- other computation, 30,000. Females are almost the only victims. In defence of the practice, they urge the difficulty of rearing female children, the expense at- tending their education, and the small probability there is of their ever being married j. Within a few years, through the benevolent exertions of some of the sub- jects of Great Britain, infanticide has been completely abolished in many of the provinces. Mr. Duncan, go- vernor of Bombay, Marquis Wellesley, and Col. Walk- er, were the persons who took the lead in this affair, and by whose energy and perseverance, results, so honourable to themselves, and which may be expected to have a beneficent influence on the progress of civi- lization, were accomplished. In Otaheite, infanticide is so common, that it threatens the complete depopulation of the Island. According to a late voyager§, at least two-thirds of the children born are destroyed. The effect which it has had in diminishing the number of inhabitants is astonishing ; and affords a strong fact in refutation of the doctrines * Buchanan's Researches in Asia, Eng. Ed, p. 49. t Ibid. p. 49. $ Dr. Buchanan states, that two modes of putting the child to death are principally prevalent. As soon as it is known to be a female, a piece of opium is put into its mouth ; or the umbilical cord is drawn over its face ? which, by preventing respiration, destroys it. Researches in Asia, p. 47.- § TurnbuIPs Voyage round the World in 1800, 2, 3, and 4. 23 of Malthus and Hume, who maintain, that the practice of destroying children has a direct tendency to aug- ment population. In 1774, when Captain Cook visited the Island, he found it to contain 204,000 souls*. In less than thirty years after, this terrestrial paradise, blessed with a genial climate and a luxuriant soil, was reduced to 5000 inhabitantsf. Turnbull relates, that " the Mis- " sionaries made two tours whilst he was in the Island, " and in each of which they numbered the people ; ae- " cording to the first calculation, they were 7000, but * ; in the last they very little exceeded fiveX" It is not to be supposed that this enormous diminu- tion of population is to be attributed solely to this cause. Other causes have doubtless co-operated, par- ticularly certain diseases, which prevail to a great ex- tent, such as fevers, dysentery, phthisis pulmonalis, and scrofula§. All travellers, however, who have vi- sited the Island, concur in the opinion, that the effects of infanticide are infinitely more injurious to the popu- lation than all the other causes combined. The natives of New South Wales resort to violent and unnatural compression of the body of the mother, in order to procure abortion. This process is called by them Mee-bra. Another practice still more shocking prevails, of burying a child with its mother if she hap- pens to die|[. Among the Hottentots, infanticide appears to be a common crime. Barrow describes a race of them called Bojesmans, who destroy their offspring on vari- ous occasions : as " when they are in want of food ; * Cook's 2d Voyage, vol. 1. p. 349. t Turnbull, vol. 3, p. 77. % Ibid. vol. 3, p. 778. $ Edinb. Med. & Surg. Jour. vol. 2, p. 234—90. (| Collins' Account of the Colony of New South Wales, p. 124. 5- Edic Rev. vol. 2, p. 34. 24 a when the father of a child has forsaken its mother; * c or when obliged to fly from the boors and others; " in which case, they will strangle them, smother them t " cast them away in the desert, or bury them alive*." The Mahometans do not appear to attach any cri- minality to child-murder. On the contrary, the very sources of honour and authority among them are pol- luted by it. Even the palace of the Sultan is constant- ly stained by the blood of infants. Thornton states, that the offspring of the younger princes of the royal family, who are kept in honourable confinement in the palace, are destroyed as soon as they are bornf. And Blacquiere accounts for the smallness of the number of children belonging to the Bashaw of Tripoli, from the fact of his encouraging his wives to evade their ac- couchementsf. Even in Iceland we find traces of this inhuman crime ; that island, which appeared in the distant horizon as the watch tower of genius and learning, at a time when ignorance and superstition waved their triumphant ban- ners over the prostrate glories of Europe ; along whose majestic mountains, and in whose sacred retreats, poesy was still heard to sing, when her notes were lost at Athens and at Rome; and from whose shores elo- quence continued to roll her thunders over the billows of the ocean, when her tongue was palsied in the forum and the senate ; even in this island, so celebrated and so favoured, the detestable crime of exposing in- fants was at one time not prohibited. The custom ap- pears to have been derived from their Norwegian an- cestors, amono; whom it continued to prevail for nearly • Barrow's account of a Journey in Africa in 1801 & 2, p. 378, 9. t The present state of Turkey, &c.by Thomas Thornton, Esq. vol.l,p. 120. | Letters from the Mediterranean, by E. Blacquiere, Esq. toI. 1, p. 90. 25 one hundred years after it had been abolished in lee- land. It became extinct shortly after the introduction of Christianity into the island, which event took place at the end of the tenth century*. If we turn our attention from the Old World, and direct it to the New, we shall find this crime presenting itself under forms no less horrible and disgusting. Among the natives about Hudson's Bay, it is common for the women to procure abortion by the use of a cer- tain herb which grows theref. In Labrador, the Moravian Missionaries who first landed there, found it a prevailing custom to put to death their widows and orphans ; not to gratify a na- tural ferocity of disposition, but merely on account of a supposed inability to provide the means of support for the helpless orphan or the desolate widow of an- other. By the exertions of the Missionaries, the prac- tice was arrestedf. IN or were the savages of these inclement regions the only people who were guilty of this horrid crime. The gloomy superstition of the Mexicans delighted in hu- man sacrifices, and the altars of their Divinities were continually drenched with the blood of infants and of men§. The number of these sacrifices has doubtless been exaggerated ; but the fact is unquestionable, thai countless victims poured forth their lives to appease or conciliate their imaginary deities. The mothers in California are described as volunta- rily destroying their offspring. Venegas states, that * Dr. Holland's Preliminary Dissertation on the Hist, and Lit. of Iceland, in Sir G. Mackenzie's Travels. Edin. 2d Ed. p. 39. t Ellis's Voyage to Hudson's Bay, p. 198. J Barrow's Account of a Journey in Africa in 1801 and 2, Edin. Rev. vol. 8, p. 438. $ Robertson's Hist, of Amer. vol. 3, p. 325, 26 the common cause of it was a scarcity of food, and that the practice was put a stop to by the father Salva- Tierra, who ordered a double allowance to be given to women newly delivered*. Charlevoix describes a race of Savages in North America, who make a practice of destroying all infants who are so unfortunate as to lose their mothers before they are weaned ; at the same time, they inter alive all the other children, upon the plea that no other fe- male can nurse them properlyf. The Peruvians, whom Dr. Robertson eulogizes for the mildness of their manners, and the benevolent spi- rit of their religionj, were nevertheless in the habit of sacrificing children. Acosta tells us, that in such cases as the sickness of the lnca, or doubtful success in war and other affairs, ten children were sacrificed; and upon the coronation of the lnca, 200 were offered up. When a Peruvian father was taken sick, he sacrificed his son to Viriachocha, (the sun,) beseeching him to ac- cept of the life of his child and to save his own§. The same writer, when comparing the Peruvians and Mexi- cans, describes the former as exceeding the latter in the sacrificing of children, while the latter were chiefly addicted to the sacrifice of men taken in battle, of whom they murdered an immense number. Robertson en- deavours to rescue them from this charge by invalidat- ing the testimony of Acosta : he cannot, however, help confessing that the practice did prevail among " their " uncivilized ancestors," but he adds, " that it was to- * Hist, of California, by Miguel Venegas, London, 1759, vol. 1, p. 82. In the Library of the New- York Historical Society. t Journal d'un Voyage a L'Amerique Septentrionale ; par le P. De Charle- voix, a Paris, 1744, torn. 3, p. 368. In the Library of the N. Y. Hist. Soc'y, % Hist, of Amer. vol. 3, p. 335, & Hist, of the Indies, 1. v. c< 19- 27 f tally abolished by the Incas, and that no human vic- " tim was ever offered in any temple of the Sun." He admits, moreover, that " in one of their festivals, the " Peruvians offered cakes of bread moistened with " blood drawn from the arms, the eye brows, and noses " of their children. This rite may have been derived," he says, " from the ancient practice in their uncivilized " state, of sacrificing human victims*." Besides those that have been enumerated, travellers record the names of other tribes and nations inhabiting this vast continent, who murder their children with impunity and without remorse. They tell us of the Mbiponians, a migratory race, inhabiting the province of ChaCo in Paraguay, among whom, mothers have been known to destroy all their children as soon as they were bornf . And of the Jlraucanians, a powerful nation of Chili, who permit fathers and husbands to kill their children and wivesj. But it is unnecessary to extend this sketch any fur- ther. Enough has been recorded to give a view of the wide spread desolations of this unnatural crime, certainly too much for the honour of human nature. * ±iist. of America, vol, 3, p. 429. t Edin. Encyciop. Art. Abiponians, f Ibid. Art. America, CHAPTER II. MEDICO-LEGAL HISTORY. By Infanticide, in its most extensive signification, is understood, the destruction of the Fcetus in Utero, or of the child after it is born. It therefore includes the con- sideration of the various means bj which abortion may be procured, and the characteristics by which it may be known ; as also the signs by which the murder of the child after birth may be detected. OF ABORTION. Before proceeding to an enumeration of the signs of an abortion, it may be proper to make a few re- marks on the period at which the foetus is to be consider- ed as alive. In reviewing the various opinions on this subject, we shall have abundant reason to confess, that fancy has too often usurped the prerogative of reason, and idle speculation has been substituted in the place of rational investigation. The consequence has been, that opinions have been promulgated, not only the most erroneous and absurd in their nature, but the most dangerous in their tendencies, to the happiness of individuals, and to the best interests of community. The ancients were by far the most extravagant in their notions on this subject. The same fundamental 29 error, however, pervaded all their theories. They believed that the sentient and vital principle was not infused into the foetus until some time after conception had taken place. It is not surprising that the exact time at which this union j is effected, could never be satisfactorily settled by them. According to Hippo- crates, the male foetus became animated in thirty days after conception, while the female required forty-two*. In another part of his works he asserts, that this does not occur until the perfect organization of the foetus. The Stoics believed that the soul was not united to the body before the act of respiration, and consequent- ly, that the foetus was inanimate during the whole pe- riod of utero-gestationf . This doctrine prevailed un- til the reigns of Antoninus and Severus, when it gave way to the more popular sentiments of the sect of the Academy under Zeno, who maintained, that the foetus became animated at a certain period of gestation. The Canon Law of the Church of Rome, also distinguished between the animate and inanimate foetus, and punished the destruction of the former with the same severity as homicidej. Galen considers the animation of the foetus to take place on the fortieth day after conception, at the same time that he supposed the foetus to become orgar>ized<§. Others believed shorter periods sufficient, and accord- ingly three days and seven have respectively had their advocates||. Another contends, that eighty days are requisite for the animation of the female, while only forty are necessary for the maleH. Some advocate * Lib. de Nat. Fuer. Num. 10. t Plutarch's Morajs vol. 3, p. 2b0. Lond. i P 6 Zacchioe Quaest. Med.-Leg. lib. ix. tit. 1, 2, 5, p. 744. Frankfort, 1688, § Opera Galeni, de Usu Part. lib. 15, cap. 5. Lugduni, 1643. || P. Zacchioe Quaest. Med.-Leg. lib. i. tit. 2. Q. x. p. 82. 1 Ibid, 30 forty days as sufficient for both*. Others again make a distinction between the imperfect embryo and the perfectly formed foetus, and consider abortion of the latter as a crime deserving the same punishment as homicide; a distinction^ of which, it is justly remarked by a celebrated writer}" on medical jurisprudence, 44 ennemie de la morale et de Phumanite, digne de 44 1'ignorance et des prejuges de ses auteurs." Amidst these discordant sentiments, Zacchias offers himself as a mediator, and proposes sixty days as the limit, and recommends that any one who should cause an abortion after that period, whether of male or female, should be punished for homicide^. All the foregoing opinions, wholly unsupported either by argument or experiment, might be dismissed with- out a comment, were it not to point out the evils to which they have given rise. It may be said of them with perfect truth, that their direct tendency has been to countenance, rather than to discourage abortion, at least in the earlier stages of pregnancy. On a sub- ject of this nature, it was to be supposed that legal de- cisions would be influenced in a great measure bv the opinions of Philosophers and Physiologists; and ac- cordingly, while the delusion of the Stoics continued its sway, the law could view nothing very criminal in wilful abortion§, as the foetus was considered merely portio vis- cerum matris||. And afterwards, when the Academicians flourished, punishments \ cry different, in the degree of their severity, were inflicted, according as the abor- * P. Zacchise Queest. Med.-Leg. lib. i. tit. 2. Q. x. p. 82. + Fodere, torn. iv. p. 384. $ Qusest. Medico Legal, lib. i. tit. 2. Q. s. p, 83. § Traite de Medecioe Legale et D'Hygiene Publique, &c. Par. F. E. Fo- der6, torn. iv. p. 382. || Plutarch's Morals, vol. iii. p. £30. 31 tion was supposed to be that of an animate or inanimate foetus*. In modern times, an error no less absurd, and at- tended with consequences equally injurious, has re- ceived the sanction, not merely of popular belief, but even of the laws of most civilized countries. The error consists in denying to the foetus any vitality until, after the time of quickening. The codes of almost every civilized nation have this principle incorporated into them, and accordingly, the punishment which they denounce against abortion, procured after quickening, is much severer than before. The English Law, " considers life not to commence " before the infant is able to stir in its mothers wombf.' The law of Scotland, adopting the creed of the Stoics, believes the i'cetus in utero, previous to quickening, to be merely pars viscerum matris. In Saxony, in con- sequence of the disputes of medical men on this sub- ject, it was formally decided, that the foetus might be esteemed alive after the half of pregnancy had gone The kbsurdfty of the principle upoto which these distinctTolp^aTe\Tounded, is ofWsy demonstration. The foetus, previous to the time of quickening, must be either dead or alive. Now, that it is not the former, is most evident from neither putrefaction nor decom- position taking place, which would be the inevitable consequences of an extinction of the vital principle. To say that the connection with the mother prevents this, is wholly untenable. Facts are opposed to it. Foetuses do actually die in the uterus before quickening, and then all the signs of death are present. The em- * Traiie de Med. Leg. par F. E. Fodere, torn. iv. p. S32. t Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, vol. i. p. 12! i Specimen Juridicum Inaugurate, p. 4G. Lugduni Batavorum, 1760 32 bryo, therefore, before that crisis, must be in a state dif- ferent from that of death, and this can be no other than life. But if the foetus enjoys life at so early a period, it may be asked, why no indications of it are given be- fore the time at which quickening generally takes place? To this it may be answered, that the absence of any consciousness on the part of the mother, rela- tive to the motions of the child, is no proof whatever that such motions do not exist. It is a well known fact, that in the earlier part of pregnancy, the quantity of the liquor amnii is much greater in proportion to the size of the foetus, than at subsequent periods. Is it not, therefore, rational to suppose, that the embryo may, atjjrst, float in the waters without the mother being conscious~of its movements ; but that afterwards, when it has increased in bulk, and the waters are diminished in proportion, it should make distinct and perceptible impressions upon the uterus? Besides, it should not be forgotten, that foetal life at first must of necessity be extremely feeble, and therefore, it ought not to be considered strajbge, that muscular action should also be proportionably weak. But granting, for the sake of argument, that the foetus does not stir previously to quickening, what does the whole objection amount to ? Why, only that one evidence of vitality, viz. motion, is wanting; and we need not be told, that this sign is not essential to the existence of life*. The incompleteness of the embryo previous to quick- * There is a difference of opinion as to the real nature of quickening. It has been lately suggested by a writer, that it is altogether independent of any motion of the child, and that it is to be attributed to the sudden rising of the Uterus out of the Pelvic Cavity into the abdomen*. If this opinion were true, * Lond. Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 27. p. 441. 33 erring, is no objection to its vitality. Life does not de- pend upon a complication of organs ; on the contrary, it is found that some of the simplest animals, as the polypi, are the most tenacious of life. Besides, upon this principle, vitality must be denied to the child after birth, because many of its bones, as well as other parts of its body, are imperfect. Nor is the want of organic actwpfimy argument against this doctrine. Life appears todepend essentially as lit- \*^ tie upon organic action, afcs it»aoes upon a complication of organs. If it did, the foetus, after quickening, would be just as destitute of life as it was before ; for its brain, lungs, stomach, and intestinal canal, perform no more action at the eighth month than they do at the third. But if organic action be essential to life, how are we to account for those singular cases of foetuses J born alive, and yet destitute of some of the most im- portant organs in the body, such as the head, brain, &c. # ? and how are we to explain those temporary sus- pensions of organic action in the bodies of adults which sometimes happen, without the principle of life being extinguished ? The observations of Physiologists, tend also to prove the vitality of the foetus previously to quickening. Ac- cording to Blumenbachf, blood is perceived about the ■ ■ ■ ■ i ■ ■ ■ ■ , 1 1 it would afford another incontrovertible argument in favour of the position which I have advocated. Almost all writers on obstetrics, however, unite in referring this peculiar sensation to the movements of the child; and Mr. Burns particularly cautions us not to confound this " foetal motion with the sensation felt by the mother " from the uterus rising out of the pelvis, and which precedes the feeling of " fluttering*." I cannot refrain from adding, that Dr. Hosack, who, in his extensive practice, has enjoyed the best opportunities for observation, corn- curs in the same sentiment. * Saumarez's Physiology, vol. ii. p. 21. Review of Sir E. Home's Paper on the Functions of the Brain. Edin. Rev. vol. xxiv. p. 439. t Blumenbach's Phys. and Richerand's Phys. * Bura'a Principles of Midwifery, p. 157. Eng. Ed. 1814. 34 seventeenth day after conception, together with the pulsation of the heart, and not long after the different organs have commenced their developement. Mauri- ceau relates, that he saw a foetus of about ten weeks, that was alive, moved its arms and legs, and opened its mouth*. JJaller, indeed, asserted, " that all the viscera 64 and bones oi^fe^future fcetus, nearly fluid, indeed, and Vj^/ " therefore invisible^Naere pre-formed before concep- ffrjCf/l&tT* ^ on m tne materna l gVm.*' However objectionable / such an opinion may be, yefrtk e fact is certain, that the embryo enjoys life long before the sensation of quickening is felt by the mother. Indeed, no other doctrine appears to be consonant with reason or physiology, but that which admits the foetus to possess vitality from the very moment of conception. If physiology and reason justify the position just laid down, we must consider those laws which treat with less severity the crime of producing abortion at an early period of gestation, as immoral and unjust. They tempt to the perpetration of the same crime at one time, which, at another, they punish with death. In the language of the admirable Percival, " to extin- " guish the first spark of life, is a crime of the same " nature, both against our Maker and society, as to " destroy an infant, a child, or a man ; these regular " and successive stages of existence being the ordi- " nances of God, subject alone to his divine will, and " appointed by sovereign wisdom and goodness as the " exclusive means of preserving the race, and multiply- " ing the enjoyments of mankindf.' 5 Hippocrates cherished similar sentiments, and he accordingly, in his work on the Oaths and Duties of * Burton's Midwifery, p. 88. t Percival's Works, vol. ii. p. 430, 1. 35 ***** Physicians, expressly forbids the attempt at abor- tion*. The practice of causing abortion is resorted to by unmarried females, who, through imprudence or mis- fortune, have become pregnant, to avoid the disgrace which would attach to them from having a living child ; and sometimes, it is even employed by married women to obviate a repetition of peculiarly severe labour-pains, which they may have previously suffered. But abor- tion is not always associated with crime and disgrace ; it may arise from causes perfectly natural ancl alto- gether beyond the control of the female. The Phy- sician should, therefore, be extremely cautious in his proceediags, even in cases of illegitimate pregnancy, and where the voice of popular prejudice seems to call upon the medical witness merely to confirm its pre- vious, and often false decisions. ^.^wo^uestions demand the consideration of a physi- cian called to a reputed case of abortion : Has the w?o- A cu/KI ^ u3L ^ : man had an abortion ? By what means was it brought about? According to the answers given to, these in- quiries must his testimony be regulated. Signs of abortion, — In the early months of pregnancy, it is extremely difficult to ascertain whether an abortion %•¥ has takewn^gge or not. The foetus hks scarcely had time to make those" firm attachments which af^erwa/ds unit^tfio the womb; nor has it attained itVa sufficient >v n <, size ^Kmct thbj^||!kr^al\hanges in the constitution^ of the mother ; nor those local alterations from the dis- - tention of the uterus and abdomen, which are after- wards produced. Its separation is, therefore, unattend- ed by violence, and leaves but faint, if any traces of its previous existence. The haemorrhage attending it is • * M6d. L6g. par FoderS, torn. iv. p. 331. also of small consequence, as the uterine vessels have not yet sustained any particular enlargement, and, therefore, speedily contract. In abortions at the middle or end of pregnancy, this obscurity does not attend us. The characteristics are then sufficiently evident for our guidance. There is considerable haemorrhage from the enlarged vessels of the uterus previously to the contraction of the womb ; ^-there is an offensive discharge of blood and mucus from the vagina; distinguished from the menstrual flux by this circumstance, and by its longer continu- ance *the menses continuing, usually, only three or four days, while the lochia do not cease flow- ing under seven or eight ; — the vagina is considerably dilated, and the os uteri open ; — the labia are«red, soft, and inflated ; — the breasts are swollen, and milk flows from them ; — the areolae of the nipples are larger and darker coloured than usual ; — and the abdomen is flac- cid, rugous, and pendulous*. CM^d?** 1 * If the abortion ends in the death of the mother, 1k& foli6"wilTg appearances will be recognized on dissection ; for it majL sometimes be necessary to settle the point after her oeath, as in cases w-here another person is accused of Having procupefT it by the administration of medicines, which m^fnave caused not only the death of the child, OTffalso of the mother. ~fjfrftt~* nth ee arlv months, no-esti li'b'i 'd'i'hapy-'appearances Jo beoetected : as the foetus wa#expelleiLj«raaps efore the placenta was *a T^lyE^w^r-^&gBB&f^ at- tached to the uterus, so that its separation would leave no visible mark ; and from its smallness, it had caused * Vide Zacchias' Qusest. Med. Leg. Fodere's Med. Leg. Brendelius' Med. Leg. Burns' Midwifery. Males' JVfed. Jurisprudence, and Dr. String- ham's MS. Notes on Legal Medicine. 37 no distention nor thickening of the uterus. But at a later ^^ g^jl^ period, the uterus is found enlarged a nd thickened — its ^^^ muscular fibres are more evident, and its blood vessels and lymphatics much augmented in size; — a rough sur- face is found where the placentalias been attached ; — the cervix uteri is relaxed, and the vagina considerably dilated ; — the ligamenta rotunda are relaxed, and the ligamenta lata nearly effaced, as they furnish the ute- rus with its external covering. Upon examining the ovaria, if it be done a short time after the ovum has escaped from them, a corpus luteum is found, which vanishes soon after, but leaves a scar for life. ^ Such are the evidences furnished by dissection; and where they are found, afford incontestable proof of the previous existence of a foetus in the uterus. I know that objections have been urged against their validity. A late English writer on this subject, says, " that the distention of the uterus M might arise from hydatids, or moles, and the inequali- " ty of its interna! surface, occasioned by their attach- " ment # " And even with regard to the corpora lutea, he appears to be inclined to the belief that they may ex- ist in virgins. Let us examine this objection for a mo- ment. — That the enlargement of the uterus, the relaxa- tion of the cervix uteri and ligamenta rotunda, as well as the obliteration of the ligamenta lata, maybe occasioned by the causes here assigned, will not admit of any dis- pute; but the other phenomena cannot possibly be ex- plained, unless by admitting pregnancy to be the cause. Hydatids, although not of frequent occurrence, are some- times found in the uterusj ; but they can never occasion * MedicaiJurisprudence, by Males, p. 120. t A case is related in the Med, k Philos, Register, by Drs. Hosack and Francis, vol. iv. p. 519. P *\ •«, . 38 \ * ^ e P^ acenta ^ mark, the preternatural enlargement of the uterine vessels, nor the corpora lutea. This will ap- pear obvious from the following facts. The placental sur- face is between four and and five inches in diameter. Now if any degree of credit is to be attached to the descriptions given by distinguished Physicians of hydatids, they are never attached by so extensive a surface. Dr. Den- man, in relating a case of this kind, says that the " hy- " datids, or small vesicles, hung together in clusters " from one common stem, and containing a watery " fluid*." According to Dr. Baillie, the celebrated anatomist, " they consist of vesicles of a round or " oval shape, with a narrow stalk by which they ad- " here to the outside of one another. Some of these " hydatids are as large as a walnut, and others, as " small as a pin's head. A large hydatid has generally " a number of small hydatids adhering to it by a narrow "process^." From these descriptions, it is obvious that the surface caused by the attachment of hydatids to the uterus, must be very different from that of the placenta. It would indeed be absurd to imagine that this narrow stalk could be of such magnitude as to have a diameter of four or five inches. No less ab- surd is it to suppose that hydatids can cause such an enlargement of the uterine vessels as takes place in cases of pregnancy; for, from their very constitution, they cannot require any thing like the quantity of blood which is necessary to support the growth of a fcetusj. * Introduction to the Practice of Midwifery, vol. i. p. 117. f Morbid Anatomy. \ These were substantially the grounds upon which the Medical witnesses, at the late celebrated Trial of Charles Angus, Esq. of Liverpool, for the mur- der of Miss Burns, in 1808, declared their belief of her having been pregnant. Dr. Carson alone objected, and stated, that he believed hydatids might have cauied the appearances in the uterus. This, together with his testimony cc- 39 With regard to the c orpora lute a, the experiments of De Graaf upon rabbits, long since proved that their existence is a certain indication of previous impregna- tion; and the recent experiments of Dr. Haighton con- firm the same doctrine*. The preceding observations will apply also to moles, although not with equal force. But in all cases of this kind, where the symptoms of pregnancy are said to arise either from moles or hydatids, it is reasonably to be expected that they should be produced in evidence. If they are not, this very fact would justify more than a suspicion of guilt; for no other cause could be assign- ed for the concealment of a circumstance which would at once place th e innoc ence of the accused upon an un- +^ 1^ shaken basis. ffitAAjl ^ \~h~- Suc fc, a re the signs by which an abortion may be re- /A^v, cognized. Nothing, however, can be learned from them as to the cause of it, for the symptoms of natural and unnatural abortion are precisely the samef. A Physician, when called to a case of abortion, is usually directed by practical writers, to maka^<|j§L ^i his examinations as speedily as possible after the event is supposed to have taken place, as all the parts from which any inference can be drawn, soon ^Jlt JK return to their natural dimensions, and then all the signs become obscured. The time in which this takes place is variously stated. According to Zacchias, the signs are most conspicuous during the first ten days, and cerniog the perforation of her stomach, cleared the accused. Vide a most able and triumphant vindication of the other Medical witnesses, written by Dr. Bostock, Liverpool, 1808. Also, an article on this subject in the New England Journal, vol. vi. No. 2, by T. R. Beck, M. D. &c. * Burns 1 Midwifery, Note by Dr. Chapman, p. 129, t Males' Med. Jurisp. p. 119. 4- 40 after that, they gradually diminish to the fortieth*. Bums says it is a month" liiTeTTtelivery, at least, before the womb returns to its unimpregnated state")". Dr. B -stock states, that the complete contraction seldom takes place " in less than eighteen dajs, and it is often t; morej." The causes of abortion come next to be considered. These are various, and it requires the exercise of the Physician's acutest sagacity, to enable him to dis- criminate in such a manner as to decide correctly. They all. however, appear to act upon the same prin- ciple, viz. that of interrupting the process of gestation, and exciting; the uterus to premature contraction upon its contents, so as to expel them. The criminal means that have been resorted to for tlns/pdrro^. are. repeated venesection: drastic purges; powerful erne cics ; mer- curial salivation; diuretics; emmenagogues; violent exercise; and e]ectricity§. It may be remarked, that all these act primarily upon the general constitution, and produce their ef- jL^»iects upon the uterus, onlv in consequence of the svm- / Apathy existing between it and the other organs in the body. t]t nee it has been noticed by practical ob- servers, that all of them will fail in producing the in- tended effect, unless used to such an extent, as at the same time to endanger the life of the mother!), or un- less she labours under a previous pre-disposition to abortion^ * Euros' Midwifery, p. 515. t Quaint. Med. Leg lib. iii. tit. 2. Q. is. p. 303. \ Vindicationrof the Medical witnesses on the Trial of C. Ansus. Esq. for the murder of Miss Burn ; . Liverpool. 1808. ! y.il. Le_- parFodere, torn, iv p. 423. Males' Medical Jurisprudence, and Stringharn's MS. Xo-es on Leg. Medicine. 1 [6d. Lej. par Fodere\ torn. iv. p. 434. i^rc^ :\ 41 But there are other means, more local in their ope- ration, and far more certain in their results; as hows on the abdomen and lumbar region; and the introduc- tion of an instrument into the womb, which, by rup- turing the membranes, destroys the child. In France and some other European countries, this latter me- thod has been extensively adopted, and has been attended with the most fatal success. In this class of abortives, I am induced also to place ergot or spurred rye, an article which has lately been intro- y C* £ W duced into our Materia Medica, and which has a most r*\ . wonderful power in exciting uterine actions*. *J^r The natural causes of abortion should always be kept in view in medico-legal investigations on this subject, so that we may not attribute to criminal interference, what is owing to some morbid derangement. Diseases of various kinds, as rheumatism, pleurisy, small-pox, ty- phus and yellow fevers, scarlatina, syphilis, and mea- ^ sles, operating on a system pre-disposed by nervous irritability; a diseased state of the uterus ; the intempe- rate use of spirituous liquors, or of certain medicines, • particularly iron and mercury ; irritation of the neigh- bouring organs, from costiveness, tenesmus of dysen- tery, hcemorrhoids, prolapsus ani, piles, diarrhoea, incon- tinence of urine, and the excessive use of aloetic medi- cines; errors in regimen and diet; violent exercise, as in walking, dancing, riding, running, &c. ; accidental falls ; a sudden contortion or shockf of the body ; in- * Dr. Hosack has just favoured me with the account of an abortion occa- sioned by the imprudent administration of this substance, to accelerate the delivery of a woman in this city. It is to be hoped, that an article of such prodigious power as this appears to he, might be used with more caution : at any rate, there should be some legal prohibition against its indiscriminate pre- scription by Old Women and Quacks. t The pulling of a tooth, for instance, has been known to produce abor- tion. Burns on Abortion, p. 64. * 42 diligence of any violent passion of the mind, whether joyful or sad ; the relation of any unexpected intelli- gence ; a great noise ; the appearance of any extraor- dinary object; the refusal of any particular article of diet which she may desire ; previous abortion ; fluor albus ; exce ssive venery ; accidental blows on the ab- domen ; the death of the foetus ; the attachment of the placenta over the os uteri; retroversion of the womb; haemorrhage, from whatever source or at any period* ; all or any of these causes may give rise to abortion, with- out the imputation of the least criminality to the female. The influence of the passions upon the uterine functions is peculiarly striking. Dr Hosack describes the contagious effects of sympathy, as he witnessed them on a large scale in the Infirmary of Edinburghf. It is an extraordinary fact, that the melancholy and sadness caused by some great evil which is known and expected, are much less injurious to a pregnant wo- man, than the annunciation of some important good, or even a trifling misfortune which is unexpected. Fodere relates the case of some pregnant women, who, during the horrors of the French revolution, were confined in dun- geons and condemned to death; their execution was, however, delayed in consequence of the peculiarity of their situation. Yet notwithstanding the actual wretched- ness of their condition, and the more terrible anticipa- tion of future suffering, they went on to the full time, during which period, a fortunate change in the state of parties rescued them from unmerited punishment^. * M6d. Leg. par Fodere, torn. iv. p. 422. Burton's Midwifery, p. 281. Burns' Midwifery, p. 161. Burns on Abortion. Hamilton's Midwifery. Hosack's MS. Notes on Midwifery. t MS. Notes of Lectures on Midwifery. I Med. Leg. torn. iv. p. 422. ill-fated moment to the maining spark of virtuous 43 Having thus concisely noticed the signs and causes of abortion, I shall make a remark or two upon the cir- cumstantial evidence which ma} be adduced to prove the guilt of the woman. 1. She is accused of having concealed her pregnancy. — •al enough. Indeed it is wonderful that a circumstancjb of this kind should ever have been considered the least proof of guilt. That must, indeed, be a female lo/st to all shame and sensi- bility, who would proclaim Iter condition before it was no longer in her power to conceal it. Even when she knows it must soon be developed, it is the dictate of human nature to protract last. It is in truth the r feeling which prompts hey actions 2. But she has made not preparation for confinement. — This is generally esteemed a most essential point in determining the guilt ok innocence of the female ; but certainly without the least foundation in justice. No- thing is more inconclusive; a designing woman may pro- cure an abortion, and yet have provided clothes, &c. for lying in, for the purpose of imposing upon the jury. While an unfortunate female, for the first time in this situation, might be unacquainted with the necessary preparation, or with/ the time when they might be wanted, while the timidity natural to the sex, and her wish to conceal her infamy, might deter her from ask- ing counsel from otHers^ 3. SUe $iq^ Aa^eUei^l^j^f^r}%ular disease. — This also is inconclusive/; as it arises from her wish to con- ceal her situation. / The most important inquiries to be made, relate to the means she may haue adopted to bring about an abortion. If she has applied^requently to the same or to different 14 Physicians to be bled, especially in the foot; — if she has endeavoured to procure any of the medicines usu- ally given to produce this effect; — if any are found in her possession, or if she can be convicted of actually taking them without medical advice ; we have then the strongest circumstantial evidence which the nature of the case admits of, to pronounce her intention to have been criminal. These are circumstances, however, which do not strictly come under the cognizance of the professional witness ; they are matters of fact, which must be decided upon from the testimony "which may be offered by the other witnesses cited to appear in the case. Nothing, 1 believe, is to be learned as to the nature of the cause of an abortion, whether it is criminal or natural, from any examination, of the foetus, as its ap- pearance will be very much the same, whatever may have been the cause of its expulsion from*the womb, OF THE MURDER OF THE CHILD AFTER IT IS BORN. Several questions here demand consideration : Was the woman really pregnant? Has she been delivered of a child? Was the child born alive? Was it capable of living after birth ? What wereJhe means used to termi- natf its existence? ^tf% m fil A«* 1$&7 1. Of the signs of pregnancy. — It is a matter of con- siderable importance to be assured that the accused was really pregnant, as not unfrequently many of the symptoms of it are present without the reality. This is particularly important in those cases where the child 45 cannot be produced. It is not necessary, in this place, to recount the signs by which this may be known. It will not, however, be irrelevant to state, that it is im- possible to fasten upon any individual symptom which shall universally characterize it. Even when a num- i#* ber of them have concurred to induce the belief of its existence, mistakes have occasionally been committed, and pregnant women have been tapped for dropsy, and diseased women imagined themselves with child*. II. Of the signs of delivery. — These may be summed up under the following heads : 1. An extraordinary enlargement of the external or- gans of generation, occasioned by the irritation and — distension during labour. S. A preternatural distention of the vagina, from the same cause. 3. The os uteri, is dilated so as to admit two or more fingers, its shape is nearly circular, and it has a soft and tumid feeling. 4. The flowing of the lochia, which are distinguish- ed from the menstrual discharge by their being of a paler colour; having a peculiarly disagreeable smell; and by their duration. 5. An enlargement and hardness of the breasts, ac- companied with a secretion of milk. 6. Dark colour of the areolce. Of this sign, Dr, Stringham remarks, " I do not know an instance to in- " validate it. It does not take place when milk is se« " creted from any other causef." And lastly, '. '; I i ' ' "" ■ * Zacchias treats at full length of the uncertainty of the signs of pregnancy. Quaest. Med. Leg. lib. i. tit. 3, Q. 1, 2, p. 86^-97. Vide also, Burns' Mid- wifery; Hosack's MS. Notes on Midwifery; and Stringham's MS. Notes on Legal Medicine. + Dr. Stringham's MS. Notes on Le^al Med. ■hL4-£*ht£ ~/**~ /• 46 7. The abdomen is prominent, and the integuments flaccid and wrinkled, and marked by whitish lines, call- ed the linece albicantes. These lines, however, are no evidence of delivery having taken place recently. They sometimes remain, after a first delivery, for life*. % Such is the evidence to be obtained from an exami- nation of the mothW. But in cases where the child is not to be found, it is hardly necessary to say how ro- i/^Wi^/ mantic and even criminal it would be in the Physician, to - / give an opinion upon it, which might hazard the life of I* **~T a human being. Ciuld he attain to certainty concern- ing her pregnancy and delivery, the very absence of the child might be Considered one of the strongest proofs of guilt. — But\ in how many cases is this cer- tainty never to be o brained ! So many are the morbid conditions of the body) with which Uniay be confound- ed, and so indistinct are the signs themselves some- times, that ingenuity and experience are often baffled, and forced to confess their ignorance. III. Of the child having been born alive.— We know nothing of th^ nature of life : we judge of it only from its effects, anq declare that being as enjoying it, who performs the \functions considered essential to it.— - These functions are called vital, and are usually enu- merated as the \ three following, viz. the cerebral and nervous; the '-sanguineous ; and the respiratory. This distribution can otaly apply, however, to the state after birth : in the fcetaftstate, facts would seem to prove, that nothing besides tna circulation of the blood is necessary to the maintenance of the vital principle. Even the energy of the brainAwhich is afterwards to determine the character, and in a great measure to fix the destiny of * Farr's Med. Jurisprudence; Fodere's Med. Leg.; Brendelius' Med Leg,; and Burns' Mid, 47 the being it inhabits, is originally dormant, and the organ itself occasionally wanting. In cases of infanti- cide, it is only from the circulation, and respiration, that any thing is to be learned : the brain and nerves leave no* , . * trace of their influence behind them* Of the blood having circulated after birth. — There are two circumstances from which a conclusion on this" point may be drawn ; — the appearance of the blood itself, and the ecchymoses on the body of the child. 1. The difference between the blood of the fetus, and the child after birth, has been particularly noticed by Bichat. He| made numerous dissections of young guinea pigs while yet in the womb of their mother, and he uniformly found the blood of the arteries and veins presenting the same appearance, resembling the venous blood of the adufe. He made the same observations in three experiments of a similar nature which he made upon pups. He also frequently dissected human fee- ft ' tuses who had died in the womb, and found the same (fa* uniformity in the arterial and venous blood. Frem^^* i -JJafe sa experim etrtgrhe--e4i&&ludes. that no difference ex- — — %A D ists between the arterial and venous blood of the fcetus ? at least in external appearance*. The chemical constitution of the blood of the foetus appears also to differ from that of the child after birth, or the adult. Fourcroy, in analyzing it, found it des- titute of fibrous matter, as well as of the phosphoric salts which are always detected in the blood of the adult. He also discovered, that it was incapable of becoming florid by exposure to the influence of atmos- pheric air. These facts prove decidedly, that there is a differ- ^ * Anatomie Generate appliquee a la Physiolojrie et a ja Medecine ; par Xav, Bichat, torn. ii. p. 343, 4, 5, a Paris, 1801. 48 /t enee between the blood of a child that dies in the womb, and one which is born alive and has respired ; and >^ '"" this circumstance may be used as a criterion, by which fctffa&f* to determine whether it was possessed of life after i +lci&i>~f c -' birth. I know not that this test has ever been intro- ^^duced into medico-legal investigations, m cases of in- fanticide. Perhaps it is one too delicate to be alto- gether trusted, especially, as we have others more ""^ /plain and obvious, and which may be more easily em- 2. Ecehymoses or extravasations of blood on the ffiZx^body of the child, produced by blows or other injuries, , prove that it enjoyed vitality at the time they were in- flicted ; for in a dead child, as the blood has ceased to circulate, it could not flow to the injured part, and there- fore there would'v be no appearance of extravasation. Professor Mahani mentions another possible cause of such extravasations, which should not be overlooked. He says it matf result from putrefaction, which, by means of the ai ™ that is generated, bursts the veins, and then blood rom xery distant parts of the bodyis insensibly carriec along to this outlet, so as to form a considerable extravasation*. It could not certainly be very difficult to liscriminate in a case of this kind, yet it teaches us a practical caution of some consequence, which is, to pa) particular attention to those circum- stances which t( nd to favour the process of putrefac- tion, as the clim ite, season of the year, and place where the body is fourid. Of the child having respired after birth. — The act of respiration constitutes the great distinguishing feature between adult and fcetal life, its commencement is f m Medecime L6gale, et Police Medicale, de P. A. O. Mahon, torn. ii. p. 49 ' f , fc succeeded by revolutions in the animal economy, the most wonderful and interesting. The pulmonary sys- tem is, however, principally affected by it, and it is there that the medico-legal inquirer must search for those changes, which are indicative of the exercise of * LA/"'' that function. -* IK *•">* *V*^%i+A&£ In examining a child which has never breathed, its W§ thorax is found flattened, or, as it were, compressed ; the lungs are dense, o f a reddish-brown_coI our. and in a collapsed state; they are comparatively small in size, occupying only the upper part of the chest, and hence they leave the heart and pericardium uncovered ; on examining the pulmonary vessels, they are found to s*%/ contain little or no blood. If the lungs be taken out of the thorax and put into water,, they will sink to the y***** -4 bottom, and if their weight be compared with the fyffJ^M^ weight of the whole body of the child, they will be found to be to each other as 1 is to 67 or 70. j{f a j Tibfafffiiiromr of all this is met with in a child that has f\- y^jj respired. The thorax is more arched, and its size ** "tfj augmented in every ' respect ; the lungs are dilated ;JH0§/t+s\* they fill up the cavity of the thorax, and cover the lateral ftfatdj/W*, parts of the pericardium ; their colour is less deep, and JZtAiA^ the pulmonary vessels are moreover distended with /^% blood. Their specific, as well as absolute weight, is J"~ also changed, ana accordingly, when put into water, " WC**^ they will float upop its surface, and when compared with the whole weight of the body, they will be as 2 is to 67 or 70 ; or in other words, the absolute weight of the lungs in a child which has breathed, will double that of the foetus previous to respiration. In addition to this, they have an elastic feeling, and on cutting into them, there is a crepitus caused by the extrication of the air from the pulmonary cells. ^ es the effects thus produced upon the lungs themselve^by the admission of air into them, there are other change^effected in the neighbouring organs. The shape of the dt^pjiragm is altered by the expan- sion of the lungs, pressir^i^own and diminishing its arch/ *And: from the same causeT^he situation of the liver and stomach will be lower. Such, in general terms, are the changes in the pul- monary system caused by respiration, and where they exist, are sufficiently palpable to remove every doubt as to the child having enjoyed life. Some of them, how- ever, require a more minute examination. •» f , Of the floating of the lungs in water, as a test of previous * vitality. — It is to Galen that we are indebted for the first notice of this test*. After his time, no writer appears even to have mentioned it, until about the period in which Morgagni flourished"!". Even Zacchias, who may justly be styled the father of Forensic Medicine, ( * passes it over in silencej. Haller speaks •e£it^9 J tficu- i * larly, and notices some of the difficulties attending its V"*tf** practical application : " Vixit ctrte puer, cujus pulmo • 4 aquis innatat, neque vitium subrepere potest, nisi vel * ; in os inflatus ger fuerit, quocR verum respirationis ic genus est, vel putredo, neque eaWodica, tantum pro- ^4« i4 duxerit seris, ut pondus specificum pulmonis, aliunde " equidem sere exigua portione majus, aquas pondere " minus factum sit. Id modica dutredo non efficit, 44 major prasstat. Neque tunc error in medici effato 44 locum habet, si levi opera voluerittexplorare, num et \ * Opera Galeni de usu Part. lib. xv. cap. 6. p. 14^, 6. Lugduni, 1643. t MorgagnPs Works, vol. i.Lett. 19, p. 536. % It cannot but appear singular, that Zacchias, who published three large folio volumes on legal medicine, -has nothiag professedly on the subject of in- fanticide. 51 " reliqua viscera natent. Id si viderit, non os in pul- " monem per respirationem receptus causa erit natandi, " sed aer ex humoribus carnibusque per communem " legem putredinis expeditus.*." In times still more modern, this subject has given rise to infinite discussion ; and perhaps there is none in the whole range of medico-legal investigations, which has occasioned more litigation or contradiction. The con- sequence has been, that/by many this test has been re- jected as altogether inconclusive. Most of the English writers by whom it has/been incidentally! touched upon, are opposed to it. The French and Germans have made it the subject of mone profound inquiry, and their re- searches have obviated most of the objections that can be urged against it. The talents of Mahon, Fodere, and Marc, have in particular been displayed with singular ability and success in its defence. 1 shall first state the test, and then consider the ob- jections which may be brought against it. It is observed, that upon putting into water the lungs of a child which has never breathed, they will sink to the bottom; but that if it has once respired, they will float. The reason of this is so obvious, that it needs no explanation. Now from these facts the ge- neral conclusion necessarily follows, that where the lungs of a child float in water, it must have respired, * Haller's Elem. Physiol, torn. iii. p. 279, 80. f I say incidentally, because I know of no English writer who has treated of it at any length. This will not appear very surprising to those who are ac- quainted with the fact, that the English cannot boast of more than three or four professed authors on the subject of legal medicine, and these are nothing more than translators or compilers from the Continental writers. Dr. Farr's small work, which is by far the most celebrated English production, is confessedly only a compilation from the Elementa Medicinee Forensis of J. F. Faseliu=, published at Geneva in 1767; and the late Epitome of Medical Jurisprudence, by Dr. Males, is chiefly taken from Mahon and Fodere. 52 and therefore must have been born alive. And on the other hand, when they are found to sink, it is an evidence that the child has not breathed, and therefore was not born alive. Such are the general propositions. Let us now see if it is safe to trust to them in all cases, by considering the different objections which have been urged against them. Objection 1. Dr. W. Hunter says, that " a child " will very commonly breathe as soon as its mouth is 44 born, or protruded from its mother ; and in that case, 4i may lose its life before its body be born, especially ** when there happens to be a considerable interval of " time between what we may call the birth of the ct child's head, and the protrusion of its body*." Morgagni and Haller appear to be of a similar opi- nion, and Mahon does not deny its possibility, al- though he considers its occurrence as not verv probablef. Hebenstreit, on the contrary, according to Mahon, boldly denies that it ever can take place}. Not- withstanding this diversity of sentiment, the objection has obtained currency, and therefore, deserves to be examined. It involves two cases: 1st, The mouth may be applied to the os externum, and respiration be effected without the delivery of any part of the body* 2d, The head may protrude while the rest of the body is detained, and in this position air may be inspired. In both these cases, the objection supposes that the shild may die before it is delivered; and therefore, the evidence afforded by the floating of the lungs would be fallacious. * Medical Observations and Inquiries, vol. vi. p. 287, t Med. Leg. torn. ii. p. 398. i Ibid. 53 With regard to the first of these, it may be remark- ed, that it is a case extremely improbable. The mouth may present in the manner just stated, but any efforts at breathing, so prematurely and unnaturally, must ne- cessarily be very imperfect, and quite insufficient to di- late the lungs, Besides, if the child dies between the time of the presentation of the mouth, and the expulsion of the whole body, it must be caused by natural debility, or some accident during delivery, the most common of of which is pressure on the cord, so as to interrupt the circulation. That the former cannot occasion it, is proved by the very fact of respiration having taken place ; for the exercise of that function so prematurely? necessarily implies a degree of vitality and vigour in- consistent with the supposition of such original feeble- ness. Nor can pressure on the cord be the cause, for it is wholly immaterial whether the circulation in it be stopped or not after respiration has commenced, as the foetal circulation has then become unnecessary. The second case supposes the head of the child to be protruded while the body is detained, and in this situation, death to ensue after respiration has been ef- fected. That a child may breathe in this position is granted ; but is it likely that it will die under these circumstances ? The remarks made before on the child dying from debility, or from interrupted circula- tion in the cord, apply with equal, if not greater force in the present instance, and they prove that the child cannot suffer from either of those causes. Besides, it is wholly incredible that the body should not shortly follow the protrusion of the head ; because if that, be- ing the largest part of the child, had once passed, the rest would present no obstacle to speedy delivery. But granting for a moment, that after the protrusion of the H *x* 54 head, the body is retained by the firm contraction of the female organs around it, then it is wholly incon- ceivable how respiration should ever have taken place, for this very contraction would prevent that dilitation of the thorax which is necessary for the performance of that function*. Practical writers remark, that there is no danger at- tending a child in this situation. In a case of this kind, Burns directs, that we should " attend to the head, " examining that the membranes do not cover the " mouth, but that the child be enabled to breathe, " should the circulation in the cord be obstructed. " There is no danger in delay, and rashly pulling away " the child is apt to produce flooding and other dan- 64 gerous accidentsf . In another place, he says, " Some 44 children die, owing to the head being born covered 44 with the membranes, some time before the body. " This is the consequence of inattention, for if the " membranes be removed from the face there is no risk " of the childX" Denman also remarks, that " it was 44 formerly supposed necessary for the practitioner to " extract the body of the child immediately after the " expulsion of the head, lest it should be destroyed by 44 confinement in this untoward position. But expe- 44 rience has not only proved that the child is not on M that account in any particular danger, but that it is " really safer and better, both for the mother and child, i4 to wait for the return of the pains, by which it will 4i soon be expelled§.' 5 Objection II. The child may have been born dead, and yet the lungs will float when put into water, either from artificial inflation or putrefaction. * Manuel D'Autopsie Cadaverique Med. Leg. par C.C.HjJVIarc. Paris, 1808, + The Principles of Mid. by J. Burns, Ed. by Dr. Chapman, 1810, p. 246. % Ibid. p. 376, Introducti on to the Practice of Mid, p. 177. Am, Ed. 55 The facts here stated are true ; but unless it can be proved, that there are no means of discriminating be-^^*^-"*^** - tween the floating of the lungs as occasioned by these causes, and natural respiration, the objection cannot be admitted as of any weight. *■*& ^5 Let us examine each in order : < V^k» Artificial inflation of the lungs, — It has been doubted by some, whether this could ever be effected. Heister states, that he proved, by actual experiments, that air blown into the lungs cannot dilate them # . Hebenstreit and Roederer maintain the saTfntrd'oc'toie^^ * *J jority of writers, however, assent to its possibility, and admit that the lungs will float in consequene of it; at any rate, there can be no question, but that a part of the lungs, at least, may be inflated artificially. And there are not wanting occasions when this might be at- tempted. It is not incredible that it might be the re- * K *4)^ K* suit of malice designed to injure the innocent mother, or of maternal tenderness endeavouring to resuscitate a lifeless child. It becomes, then, a question of great interest, to determine whether the existence of air in the lungs be the product of nature or of art. And it is fortunate for the cause of justice, as well as humani- *^L* ty, that this can be done. Buttner appears to have 91 been the first J who proposed a test for this purpose, both certain and obvious, founded upon the difference between the foetal and adult circulation. In the for- mer, it is well known, the blood does not pass through the lungs, whereas, as soon as respiration commences, the old passages are closed, and the whole mass is forced through those organs. If, therefore, a child * Morgagni's Works, vol. i. p. 536. t M6d. Leg. De P. A. O. Mahon, torn. ii. p. 439. $ Manuel D'Autopsie Cadaverique Med. Leg. par C. C. H. Marc. # 56 has been born dead, the arteries and veins of the lungs xe found destitute of blood, and in a collapsed state, notwithstanding any artificial inflation that may have been practised upon them. On the contrary, the vas- cular distention of the pulmonary organs, proves that the child has breathed, for nothing but natural respi- ration can produce this effect. Another method of determining this question, is by taking the absolute weight of the lungs, according to the test of M. Ploucqueu which shall be noticed more particularly hereafter. A\ A third test for this purpose has been suggested by M. Marc. He considers that art can never completely mA j inflate the lungs; and from the greater difficulty which attends the admission of air into the left lung, he is in- *j*} duced to believe, that the inferior extremity of that lung will remain in a collapsed state, and float but im- perfectly, or not at all. The truth of this position, though extremely probable, does not appear to be sup- ported by a sufficient number of experiments to allow its adoption as a general and infallible rule. With regard to the two first, they are founded on principles so just dflfl} and immutable, and their practical application is so certain, that they appear to have removed all the doubt which previously existed*. The putrefaction of the lungs — It has been a question of much dispute, what the effects of putrefaction are upon lungs that have never respired ; some asserting that it renders them specifically heavier than waterf, * Manuel D'Antopsie Cadarerique, Sic. p. 138. t Teichmeyer asserts, that it never causes the lungs to float. " Putrefacti " aqua, aere, defossi terra semper subsiderunt. Unde putrefactio et omnis 4£ hie objecta rarefactio non sufneit; subsidunt paulo tardius, sed semper " tandem, quod nunquam sit,cum pulmone, qui respiraverat'" Praelectiones Academicae J. G. Brendelii in H. F. Teichmeyeri Instil. Med„ Legal, vel Foren. p. 184. 57 and consequently that they will sink when thrown into that fluid, while others, of equal respectability, main- tain a contrary opinion. Both parties adduce experi- ments in proof of their particular doctrines. The only solution that can be given to these contradictory re- sults, is by admitting that all the experiments have not been performed with sufficient care, so as to lead to conclusions uniformly just. Every thing depends upon the manner in which they are conducted. The most accurate experiments, I believe, were those performed by Mayer, as related by Mahon*. From his observa- tions it appears, that in the incipient stage of putrefac- tion, lungs that have never respired will float in water, ~""4 whereas they will sink, if it has continued long enoughs %^ to completely destroy their organization, and thus ex- ' tricate all the air. These results have been corrobo- ' rated by the observations and experiments of others, t and their truth cannot be doubted. It seems singular indeed, that they should ever have been questioned, when a case perfectly analogous is witnessed in every person that is drowned. The body at first sinks, af- terwards rises to the surface, when putrefaction has generated air sufficient to render it specifically lighter ♦ • than water, and finally descends again upon the extri- cation of that air. i Such being the effect of putrefaction, it becomes a question of consequence, to determine in what way we can distinguish between the floating of the lungs as -^^ caused by natural respiration, and that which is the consequence of decomposition. Haller directs, that in a doubtful case of this kind, the other viscera of the body should be put into water as well as the lungs, * Med. Leg. torn. ii. p. 443, 4. k 58 and if they also float, it is a proof of putrefaction. " Id " si viderit, non aer in pulmonem per respirationem 6i receptus causa erit natandi, sed aer ex humoribus " carnibusque per communem legem putredinis expe- « ditus*." This rule is not strictly correct, for it is found that the lungs, from the peculiarity of their constitution, re- sist putrefaction much longer than other parts of the body. Faissole and Champeau, in experiments which they made on drowned persons, observed that the lungs remained sound after the whole body had become pu- trified. And Mahon noticed the same fact in his dis- A ■ sectioQs_of dead bodies^* x Dr. William Hunter lays down the following rule, |^AH^fi|/Cwhich appears to be founded in truth, and accordingly -v^p^* it has been adopted by Fodere, MarO, and other wri- ^/l % ters. " If the air which is in the Jungs be that of respi- ~. i; ration, the air bubbles will hardly be visible to the " naked eye ; but if the air bubbles be large, or if they " run in lines along the fissures, between the compo- 4i nent lobuli of the lungs, the air is certainly emphy- " sematous, and not air which had been taken in by . " breathing]:.". Two facts, then, appear to be evident, viz. that the lungs are less in danger of putrefaction than any other organ in the human system, except the bones, and therefore, that it is perfectly safe to make experiments upon them, even after decomposition has commenced in other parts of the body ; and that when putrefac- tion has attacked them, it is possible to distinguish its effects from those of respiration. * Haller's Elem. Phjs. torn. p. iii. 280. t Med. Leg. &c. de P. A O. Mahon, torn. ii. p. 400. \ Observations on the Uncertainty of the signs of Murder in the case of bastard children. See aho Parr's London Med. Diet. vol. ii« 59 But suppose the lungs are found to be actually in a state of putrefaction, is the Physician then justified in drawing any conclusions, or in giving any opinion ? Mahon directs in such a case, that it is better for the Medical witness to be silent, and to leave to the magis- trates the task of finding out other grounds of accusa- tion*. Marc, however, a writer who throws light upon every subject that he touches, answers this question in the affirmative, and proposes two characteristics to enable him to make a positive decision. The first is, that lungs which have respired, notwithstanding they have been attacked by putrefaction, always have a (fy^y crepitus when cut into ; whereas those which have ne- ver respired, although they float in water, are destitute of this peculiarity. The second, and which he consi- ders the most decisive and certain, is this ; that upon &*f *** i squeezing out from jgf sectionjof the lungs the matter jfg^Mj +> developed by putrefaction, they will sink if they are 1 from a child born dead ; but on the contrary, if theyv are the lungs of a child born alive, they will, notwith- standing, continue to floatf . Objection III. The child may have breathed, and yet the lungs in some cases sink, as when affected by cer- tain diseases which shall increase their specific gravity, or ivhen the respiration has been so imperfect, as not to dilate them sufficiently to cause them to float in water. The first part of this objection has been deduced principally from analogy, It has been observed, that various morbid affections of the pulmonary organs of adults, as calculi, schirri, peripneumony, hydrothorax, ulcers, &c. will cause their subsidence in water ; and * Med. Leg. torn. ii. p. 400. t Manuel P'Autopsie Cadayerique Merh'co-Legnle, par C. C. H. Marc 60 hence it has been inferred, that the same might take place in the foetus. It cannot be admitted, however, that these morbid conditions will frequently occur in the foetus, for it is not exposed to the influence of the K{ causes which usually produce them. Haller, notwith- standing his great experience and extensive learning, relates no instance of it, and expressly asserts, that they are very rarely found in the foetal state. " In " adulto homine aliquando, in fcetu rarissime, ut pulmo " caiculis, schirris, aliave materie morbose gravis in " aqua subsideat, etsi quam respiraverit # ." Brendelius, in speaking on this subject, relates only a single case W of an abortive foetus which had schirrous lungs, and con- ^ siders it a singular occurrence^ It appears then, as well from reason as from facts, that the objection is «3* **„* founded upon the existence of circumstances barely pos~ *imJk\* sible, and by no means probable. As such, however, r it demands consideration ; and it is necessary to sug- ,#gest the means by which a false judgment may be pre- vented. To any one who has been accustomed to the exami- nation of the human body in its different states of health and disease, it cannot be very difficult to decide whe- ther the lungs are in a sound or morbid condition. It would appear, therefore, at first view, that in such cases no difficulties could occur, which a sound judg- ment, aided by anatomical knowledge, could not re- move. But admitting that these are not always suffi- cient, there is still a resort left in the very test against which this objection is adduced. The objection takes it for granted that the child has breathed ; whether feebly or vigorously is a matter of no consequence. Some * Elem. Phys. torn. iii. p. 281. t J. G. Brendelii, &c. Medicina Legalis sive Forensis, p. 10, 61 hart, therefore, of the lungs must contain air, and al- though the quantity of it may be too small to cause the whole organ to float, yet if it be 'divided into a number of pieces, and any one of them remain on the surface, there cannot be a moment's hesitation about the con- clusion to be drawn. Fodere states, that he frequent- ly made experiments upon lungs that were schirrous, or had congestions of blood, and he uniformly found, that although they sunk when puf into water entire, yet when cut into pieces, some of them always floated*. With regard to the second part of the objection, it< -Af is admitted, that the child when born may be so feeble, as only to be able to inhale a small quantity of air, and therefore that the whole lung will not float in water. Heister, indeed* relates the case of a very feeble in- fant whose lungs sunk in water, though it lived nine hours after birthf . The same method must here be adopted, as in cases where the lungs are diseased ; they must be cut into seve- ral parts, and experiments must be instituted upon each. However imperfect the inspiration has been, some portion must be inflated, and therefore will float. Objection IV. Granting that the. floating of the lungs is an evidence that the child has respired, their sink- ing by no means proves that it was horn dead. This proposition is undoubtedly true. But does it constitute a solid objection? It is well known that children may be born alive without breathing. The causes which occasion this may be divided into three classes : 1 st, Those which depend upon some malforma- tion of the thorax or abdomen, which prevents respiration, 2d, Mechanical obstructions, as mucus in the trachea, * Med. L6g. torn. iv. p. 487. t Morgagni's Works, vol. i. Lett: xix. p. 536. T 62 doubling back of the tongue, &c. 3d, Causes connect- ed with delivery, as long detention in the pelvis, com- pression of the cord, or the head of the child being covered with the membranes. Now, in most of these cases it is obvious, that the cause of death may be de- tected by a careful examination of the body. But even where this cannot be done, are we not justifiable in considering as dead, every child that has not breathed ? Governed by such a rule, any error that might be co'm- mitted would always be on the side of mercy. It is true, that certainty is as desirable here, as in any other case; for the destruction of a feeble child is a crime as enormous as that of a vigorous and healthy one, and the punishment of the murderer of the one, is equally an object of public concern, with that of the other. But in the language of a distinguished writer on this subject, " pour le punir, it faut le constater: et lorsque les li- i; mites de Part nous refusent le degre de certitude que " nous ambitionnons, la clemence, que dis-je, la crainte " d'immoler Pinnocence devra Pemporter sur toute " autre consideration*." This objection, so far from showing the incon- clusiveness of this test, serves only to establish more clearly its absolute necessity. It is by resorting to it alone, that the sacrifice of innocence can be pre- vented; for who would assume the responsibility of de- ciding that a child had been born alive, when this evi- dence of vitality was absent ? If the writer has been fortunate enough to obviate the difficulties which have been raised against the test, which has just been considered, then it may be esteemed as settled, that this method of judg- * Manuel D'Autopsie Cadaverique Med. Leg. &c, par C. C. H, Marc 63 mg whether a child has been born alive or not, is not merely unattended with danger, but is found- ed on principles as favourable to humanity, as they are to rigid justice. It cannot, however, be other- wise than plain, that a conclusion ought never to be drawn from a superficial inspection of the lungs. The reputation of the professional witness, as well as the fate of the accused, are too deeply interested to admit of this. It may, therefore, be proper to present a sum- mary of practical rules, for the guidance of the Physi- cian when called to the examination of a case, which, of all others, demands a combination of the exercise of the soundest judgment, and the most profound know- ledge. 1 . After having examined the general shape of the thorax, and noticed the position and colour of the lungs in its cavity, they should be taken out, together with the heart. They should then be subjected to a care* ful inspection, to determine if they are sound or diseased, and if they are at all affected by putrefaction. 2. Particular attention should be paid to the tempe- rature of the water, in which the lungs are to be im- mersed. The reason of this is obvious, when it is re- collected, that the specific gravity of water varies with its temperature; thus, for instance, water at 100°, is lighter than water at 60°, and still lighter than at 40 0# . Besides, if the water be too hot, it will have the effect of expanding the lungs, and thus favour their floating, espe- cially when there already exists a slight tendency to putrefaction. If, on the contrary, its temperature be too low, the air cells will be contracted, and much of the air will thus be expelled. The temperature of the * Elements of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, by Tiberius €avallo ; F. R. S. vol. ii. p. 470. ■Vf- b4 water should, therefore, be regulated by that of the surrounding air. Another precaution relative to the water is, that it should not be impregnated with salt* ; for in consequence of the greater specific gravity of saline water, a body might float in it which would sink in fresh water. 3. The lungs, together with the heart, should then .. be placed in the water, and if they both float, it is a Jj proof of complete and effectual respiration. 4. If the lungs sink with the heart, or if the floating is only partial, it is then proper to separate them, and re- peat the experiment upon the lungs alone; observing "* f whether the whole float, or if they sink, whether any part shows a tendency to float; if so, 5. The two lobes should then be separated, and the experiment repeated upon each, noticing the difference, if any, between them. If only one floats, see if it is the right onef. 6. If both lobes sink, or float but imperfectly, they should be cut into a number of pieces, taking care not to confound the fragments of one lobe with those of the other; and upon each of these the same experiment should be instituted. * Fodere's Med. Leg. torn. iv. p. 470. t It is a curious fact connected with the history of incipient respiration, that the right lung receives air much sooner than the left. M. Portal made several experiments to prove this. In a kitten, which he killed a few minutes after it was born, the right lung was of a whitish colour, filled the whole cavi- JL^ ty of the chest, and swam in water. The left was of a dark-red colour, in a collapsed state, and sunk in water. He accounts for this interesting phenome- non, by showing that there is a difference in the size and direction of the bronchi leading to the two lobes. Upon examination, he found the right one about one-fourth part thicker, and One-fifth shorter than the left ; besides, he found the passage to the right to be more direct, than that to the left*. Whatever may be the method of explaining this peculiarity, it teaches us a practical lesson of the greatest value, which is, not to remain satisfied with an experiment upon one lung only ; both should be examined with equal care. * Medical Commentaries, vol. i. p. 409, 65 7. While cutting the lungs, it should be marked if there be any crepitation ; if the vessels are charged with blood ; and if there be any traces of disease. After having performed these different processes, the conclusions to be drawn from them are evident. If the entire lungs, as well as all the divisions, remain on the surface of the fluid, it is a proof that the infant en- joyed perfect respiration ; if only the right lung or its pieces float, the respiration must have been less perfect ; if some pieces only float, whilst the greater number sink, it proves that the child lived with pain, or that its lungs were diseased, or that the partial float- ing was owing to artificial inflation ; if all the pieces sink, the inference is decisive, that the child never re- spired*. Having thus noticjed, at sufficient length, the various circumstances relating to the floating of the lungs, I shall next consider,, i The test of M.l Floucquet, founded on the absolute weight of the lungs.V— From the peculiarity of the vas- cular system in the Foetus, only a very small portion of the blood goes the rsuiid of the pulmonary circulation. As soon as respiration and the whole mass o lungs, in order to unc oxygenation. From commences, a change is effected, 7 the blood passes through the ergo the necessary process of ;his, it appears that the foetal lungs must be considerably inferior in weight, to the same organs after resp ration has been established. It is upon this fact that M. Ploucquet founded his cele- brated test for determining whether a child had been born dead or alive, by comparing the weight of the of the whole body From the lungs with the weight experiments which he ad' to ascertain their propor- * Fodere's Med. Leg. torn. iv. p. 472. 66 tional gravity, he drew th< general conclusion, that the weight of the lungs pre> iouslj to respiration, is one seventieth of the weight < >f the whole body, whilst af- ter that process, it amouits to one thirty-fifth; or in other words, that the bio 3d introduced into the lungs in consequence of respiration, doubles their absolute weight. Beautiful and decisive as this test appears to be, it has met with objections. Dr= Males asserts, " that it " must be very fallacious as the capacity of the tho- k< rax, and its proportion to other parts of the body, <; vary greatly # ." The premises here, as well as the conclusion, are in- correct. It can never bf admitted, as a general fact, that there is no fixed proportion between the lungs and other parts of the body. J It is true, indeed, that nature her operations, for we know body are occasionally preter- iminished, while others are ether; but to deny that she is ur assent to the existence of The growth of the human body is as much subjecjf to general laws, as any other part of the created universe. Philosophy will never justify the subversion of any general principle, because exceptions may be urged against it. Besides, any ex- ceptions to the above test, drawn from this source, can- not be considered of much force, for no deviations from the usual structure av size of any part of the body, will double its weight, ivhich it must do to render the ob- jection valid. In cases of real monsters, this may take place, but then me cause will be so palpable, that no mistake can possiblv arise. is not always uniform in that some organs in the naturally enlarged or sometimes wanting altos so generally, is to refuse all general laws whatev Medical Jurisprudence, p. 107. 67 A second objectiomto this test is, that an excessive congestion of blood might occur in the lungs of a foetus that had never respired, which should render them equal in weight to the lungs of a fcetus which had respired*. To this, M. Ploucquel himself replies, that it is not possible for such a congestion to take place in lungs that have never respired, las shall render their weight equal to that consequent upon respiration; because the foramen ovale, and tlie canaiis arteriosus, offer so easy a passage to the current of blood, even when flowing with the greatestlrapidity, that no determina- tion of consequence can etaist towards the pulmonary vesselsf. \ A third objection has beVn drawn from the altera- tion produced by putrefactiop, in the relative weight of the lungs and body. On tlnte, Mahon remarks, " that 44 this may be the case if the Putrefaction be very great, 44 but then the foetus cannot be subjected to any exami- 44 nation, upon which a medico-legal decision can be 44 founded. But, if the putrefaction has not advanced 44 far, as the lungs resist its effects longer than any w other part, we may try the lapplication of the pro- 44 posed test, to corroborate the results afforded by the w hydrostatic trialsj." Upon the whole, Ploucquet'sl test appears to be one of more general and easy application, than any other which has yet been discovered. \ It is not at all embar- rassed by those circumstances, \wiich frequently throw an appearance of uncertainty oven the test of the floating of the lungs. In one case particularly, it may be used * Mahon's M6d. Leg. torn. ii. p. 454. t Ibid. t Medecine Legale, &c. torn. Jr. p. 460.. 63 with signal advantage, viz. where air is found in the lungs, but a doubt exists wh >ther it is the consequence of natural respiration or of a tificial inflation. I shall notice a third test,! drawn from the lungs by M. Daniel, the principle of wpich is very similar to that of Ploucquet. He judges of trie reality of respiration hav- ing taken place from the increase of weight which a giv- en quantity of water gains upon squeezing out the lungs into it. He thinks it may be fcnown also from measur- ing the periphery of the thorax and lungs, and com par- ins: their dimensions with thoi e of an infant which has not respired*. With rega d to these, it must be granted, that the first is inferi )r in precision and facili- ty to that of Ploucquet ; whils in the second, it is neces- sary that the observations an 1 measurements should be so exact, that many errors might and would un- doubtedly occur. IV. Was the child capable of living after birth? — ■ Much need not be said on this point. Every child that is born alive, ought to be considered capable of sup- porting life afterwards, unless the existence of some cause to the contrary can be proved, such as its being born previous to the expiration of the full timef ; some * Manuel D'Autopsie Cadav. &x. par M. Marc, p. 147. f The following remarks on the size of the child at the full* time, are made by Mr, Burns* : " In the eighth month, it mea- " sures about 15 inches, and weighs 4, or sometimes 5 pounds, " whilst the involucra weigh scarcely one. These calculations " vary according to the sex of the child, and also the conformation " of the parents. Male children generally weigh more than fe- " males. Dr. Roederer concludes, from his examinations, that the " average length of a male, at the full time, is 2(X| inches, whilst " that of a female is 19}| inches. Dr. Joseph Clarke has given a • Principles of Midwifery, p. \U : 5. 3d Ed. Lord. 69 accident during labour, by which it was materially in- jured ; incomplete developement of the different parts of the body ; malformation of some of its organs, by which the exercise of important functions were sus- pended. Under the influence of any of these causes, the comparatively feeble powers of the new-born infant may be prostrated, and the vitaF^principle extinguished. They may all, however, be easily detected upon ex- amination, and therefore no difficulty can arise. V. The various means by which a child's death may be jj£ caused, come lastly to be considered. These are clas- Cb*** sifted by systematic writers, as those of Omission, and *jfa4Al£* ~ i those of Commission. The former includes all those * Q h, which prove fatal by the neglect of those precautions, * j which are necessary to be attended to immediately af- rW-J ter the birth of a child; the latter embraces all direct /u^a $&f acts of violence, designed to take away life. The di- vision is certainly a happy one, as it leads to adistinc- yjSt"' tionofsome consequence in practice* *" It keeps con- »^ ! "* t/C *< table of the comparative weight of male and female children at " the full time, from which it appears, that although the greatest " proportion of both sexes weigh seven pounds, yet there are more " females than males found below, and more males than females *^^^^ " above that standard. Thus, whilst out of sixty males, and sixty " females, thirty-two of the former, and twenty-five of the latter, " weighed seven pounds, there were fourteen females, but only six " males, who weighed six pounds; on the other hand, there were " sixteen males, but only eight females, who weighed eight pounds. " Taking the average weight of both sexes, it will be found that " twelve males are as heavy as thirteen females. The placenta of " a male weighs, at an average, one pound two ounces and a half, iC whilst that of a female weighs half an ounce less. Female chil- •' dren who, at the full time, weigh under five pounds, rarely live ; ; ' and few males, who even weigh five pounds thrive. They are " generally feeble in their actions, and die in a short time." K 70 stantly in the view of the physician and the jury, the important truth, that most of those belonging to the one, may be palliated or explained on the grounds of ignorance, or want of presence of mind ; whilst the other are more generally the products of premeditat- ed malice, and therefore cannot lay claim to the same sources of justification.!* INFANTICIDE BY OMISSION. 1. The death of a child newly born, may be caused *^ £\*>^*A by omitting to remove it from that state of supination*, in which it sometimes comes into the world. In this way, respiration may be effectually prevented, by the mouth of the child being closely applied to the bed clothes, or other substances in its way. Dr. W. Hun- ter relates an instance of a childf dying, from its face lying in a pool nrnde by the uterine discharges, -where not the feast suspicion of any evil design appears to have been attached to the mother. In all cases, there- fore, in which death arises from this source, the cir- £::■ 'antiai evidence must decide their criminality. mm*"* 2e Omitting to preserve the necessary warmth of the childf. It is needless to dwell upon the necessity of those precautions which are generally resorted to, after the birth of a child, in order to preserve a pro- per degree of temperature. They are founded equally upon experience and good sense. If, therefore, they hav< ejected in any case, it is just to attribute 6g.toin.iv- p. 504. le Uncertainty of the Signs of Murder in the case of E % Foder^s Med. Leg. torn. iv. p. 504. 71 it to design, unless the circumstances of the delivery render it probable, that it proceeded from ignorance, or want of the proper means. In either case, however, the physician may be called upon to decide, whether the death is to be attributed to the action of the cold, or to some other cause. The remarks of Fodere on this point are so very just, that I cannot do better than quote him: " If the body of an infant is found stiff, dis- u coloured, shrivelled, and naked, or with only a slight " covering on it in a cold place, buried under stones, " or under the earth, and from trials upon the lungs, it " is evident that it has respired ; and if the great in- " ternal vessels are found gorged with blood, accom- " panied with an effusion of blood into the cavities^ " whilst the cutaneous vessels are contracted and al- " most empty, and when no other cawse of death can " be detected, one cannot do less than attribute it to " the cold, and consider this abandonment and neg- " lect of care, the necessity of which are obvious to " the dullest comprehension, as a manifest intention to " make away with the child*" 3. Omitting to administer proper nourishment, may occasion deathf It is not easy to say how long a new- born child may sustain life without food. It is evident, however, that it ought not to be delaved for any length of time. Fodere says the neglect of it for twenty-four hours, is not unattended with danger. Wheirdeath^s occasioned by this circumstance, it may be known by the general emaciation of the body; — by the fetid and pungent odour which exhales from it, although the death be very recent ; — by the eyes being open, and of a red colour. — On dissection, the intestines are foundy * Fodere's Med. Lts. torn, iv. p, 595. t Ibid. torn. iv. n/i06, ^iJ^t~* U~3*?"< 72 completely empty; — the gall bladder enlarged; — bile is effused into the stomach and intestines ; the lungs appear withered, although without any lesion ; and otherwise, all the viscera are in a sound condition*. 4* Omitting to tie the umbilical cord. The ma- jority of medical practitioners, from the time of Hip- pocrates down to the present day, concur in the neces- sity of tying the cord, to obviate fatal hemorrhage which might ensue from the omission of it. Such was the unanimity of opinion on this subject, that previous to the 17th century, a doubt was not entertained with regard to it. According to Fodere, J. Fanlonu Pro- fessor of Anatomy at Turin, was the first who suggest- ed that this precaution was useless, and that the neg- lect of it was unattended with any danger to the life of the child. After**iis time, the same opinion was adopted and defended by Michael Albert^ in 1731, and J. H. &chultzius%, in 1733, both Professors in the University of Halle. In 1751, Kaltsmidt maintained the same doctrine at Jena§. The arguments offered by them in defence of their opinion are the following: 1st, They maintain that the umbilical vessels, whether cut or torn, have a sufficient contractile power to prevent any great loss of blood. 2d, That, because in other ani- mals it is not necessary to tie the cord, therefore it is equally useless in the human species. 3d, Kaltsmidt adduces an argument from the analogy of arteries con- tracting spontaneously in some surgical operations, and he thence infers, that a similar contraction would take place in the vessels of the cord||. * Foder6's Med Le:. torn, iii p. 238. t Traits de M6decme Legale, &c. par F. E. Fodere, torn. iv. p. 509. ' | In a Dissertation entitled, An Umbilici deligatio in nuper natis absolute nec&ssaria sit, Halse, 1735. § FbderS's IVj6d. Leg. torn. iv. p. 509. |{ Mahon's M6d. Leg. torn. ii. p. 422, &c. v... ; -, ^ - , * v*VV ■V* 73 All these arguments are, however, inconclusive, when subjected to the test of fair inquiry. They con- sist either of bold assertions, or false inductions. With regard to the first, it is by no means true, as a general rule, that the umbilical vessels do contract sufficiently to prevent fatal hemorrhage. A few cases are, indeed, related, to the truth of which it would be difficult not to give our assent, but they may be considered as solitary exceptions, when it is known that almost every practi- tioner in midwifery can testify to the fatal effects resulting from a wilful or accidental neglect of tying the cord*. The second argument is no less unfounded than the first. That there is some difference in the structure of the human cord and that of other animals, is not mere- ly a rational conjecture, but proved by actual observa- tion. Professor Brendelius, in examining pups and heifers, found their umbilical vessels full of rugae or folds throughout the whole of their course, and their size much less, also, in proportionf . In another place^ the same writer says, that in brutes the vessels of the cord are much smaller than in man, and that when the animal is born, they are, in a measure, closed by a kind of cellular structure J. From this it appears, that in brutes there is a pecu- liar construction of the vessels of the cord, tending to interrupt the flow of blood through them, and favour- ing their speedy contraction after they have been cut. Besides, the manner in which the cord is separated in brutes facilitates contraction. It is never cut in * Burns' Midwifery, p. 447, 3d Ed. Hosack's MS. Notes on Mid. kc. Sec t Johannis G. Brendelii, Medicina Legalis sive Forensis, Hannoveri^e, 1789, p. 19. ^ Proelectiones Academicae J. G. Brendelii in H, F. Teiohraeyeri jD«ti?- Med. Leg. &c. Hanoverae, 1789, p. 189. 74 them ; it is torn asunder, and the disposition of a vessel to contract under such circumstances is much greater. The third has still less force than either of the fore- going arguments. That arteries of inconsiderable magni- tude sometimes contract spontaneously, is granted. But that vessels of a size equal to that of the umbilical ones, do contract of themselves, cannot be admitted, when we know that very dangerous hemorrhages sometimes oc- cur from vessels even much smaller than those of the cord. If, therefore, it can be proved that this precaution has been wilfully neglected, it is perfectly fair to im- pute it to an intention to destroy the child. It should not be forgotten, that in many instances it may result from ignorance, as in a first case of pregnancy, where the mother may be wholly unacquainted with the dan- ger arising from the neglect of this circumstance. As death arises here solely from the loss of blood, it may be detected by an examination of the heart and arteries. It is well known, that in the bodies of those who have not died of hemorrhage, the arteries are found empty, whilst the heart and the veins are dis- tended ; hence, if not merely the arteries but also the heart and veins of a child are found destitute of blood, it is a certain proof of its having died of he- morrhage. INFANTICIDE BY COMMISSION. 1. Premature tying of the umbilical cord*. — We know that the circulation by the cord, and respiration, are vicarious functions, and if one be interrupted or de- * Hosack's MS. Notes on Midwifery, &c. 15 stroyed before the other is in operation, life must cease, It is accordingly laid down as an invariable rule by practical writers, that the cord should never be tied or divided, until respiration has been perfectly establish- ed*. It would be difficult, however, when death arises from this source, to impute it to a malicious design, as the presumption would generally be, that it arose from ignorance, except where a professed accoucheur was implicated. 2. Wounds, and bruises. — These resemble so much similar injuries in the adult, that it is useless to dwell at any length upon them. It should be recollect- ed, that the heads of children are sometimes very much swollen, from compression during a difficult and tedious labour. This, therefore, should not be con- founded with those swellings and bruises which are consequent upon blows voluntarily inflicted after birth. One of the most common methods of destroying a child, appears to have been that of thrusting a sharp instrument into its head through the fontanelles. Gyui- Patin relates of a midwife who was executed at Parik for having murdered several children by plunging a\ needle into the head while presenting at the os exter- ! numf. Brendelius also speaks of the same horrible! practice]". An instance of this kind is related by Bel-/ loc, where, upon examination, he found the instrument had penetrated to the depth of two inches into the sub- stance of the brain§. In such cases it is necessary/ to shave the head, when a slight ecchymosis will be #)iind * Burns' Midwifery, p. 447,3d Ed. / t Med. Leg. &c. par Mahon, torn. ii. p. 409. • / $ Aciculis bregmati intrusis, aut oculorum canthis int&pnis, quorum prius conies quidam orlamindensis, ;seculo decimo tertio fecisse^egitur.- Prelect. Academ. J. G. Brendelii, &c.p. 138. / k Cours de Med. L6g. p. 93. 4<-fr3 ~^1>aAUA 76 around the puncture, and it is then proper to pursue the examination into the substance of the brain to discover the extent of the wound ; indeed, this minute anatomic- al investigation is absolutely requisite to detect the na- ture of the injury; for tumors and extravasations on the scalp and other parts of the body may occur during delivery, and wholly unconnected with any malicious intent. Needles, or other sharp instruments, are some- times thrust into other parts of the child; such as the temples, the internal canthus of the eyes*, the neck, the thorax about the region of the heartf, and the abdo- men. Similar investigations with those above men- tioned must be resorted to in all these cases ; and where, from the situation of the wound, it is evident that it must have been inflicted after delivery, particu- lar attention must be paid to the state of the lungs to discover if the child had respired, In all examinations of contusions, two cautions ought to be observed ; viz. to distinguish them from the dis- coloured spots which appear on the surface of the body, at the commencement of putrefaction ; and, not to confound accidents which may occur during dissec- tion, with those resulting from blows and other acts of violence. 3. The death of a new-born infant may be caused hy preventing its respiration. This may be accomplish- ed in various ways; viz. by drowning, hanging, or strano-ulation ; smothering under bed-clothes, &c. ; suffocating, by thrusting various articles into the mouth and nostrils. Drowning.- — If a child is found immersed in water, S* : Preel^t. Academ. J. G. Brendelii, p. 18$. /t k*vJ»~*^ ****"*? t^t^X 77 the questions to be determined are, Was it born alive ? — and is drowning the cause of its death? According to De Haen, the proximate cause of drowning was a repletion of the lungs with water, by which the arteries were compressed, and the circula- tion interrupted. If this theory were founded in truth, we should always be provided with an infallible sign of drowning. The experiments of Dr. Goodwyn have, however, proved the fallacy of this opinion, for he found, on opening animals that had been drown- ed, that only a small quantity of water had enter- ed their lungs. It is unnecessary, however, in this place, to enter into any consideration of the theo- ry of drowning. It is only requisite to state the signs by which it is characterized and may be known. Dis- section can alone develope these, and to it recourse must be had in every case of this kind. Dr. Goodwyn, in his examinations of drowned animals immediately after death, found that the lungs contained a conside- rable quantity of a frothy fluid, occasioned probably by the water which enters the lungs, mixing with the pulmo- nary mucus ; — and that the pulmonary arteries and veins were completely filled with black blood. On examining the heart, the right auricle and ventricle were perceiv- ed still contracting and dilating; but the left ventricle was motionless, though its auricle still moved feebly ; on opening the heart, the right auricle and ventricle, together with the left auricle and sinus, were filled with black blood ; the left ventricle was only about half full of this blood, and the trunks and smaller branches of the arteries proceeding from it, contained some of this black blood also. In the brain, no extra- 73 vasations were found, and no other appearance than its surface being of a darker colour than natural*. Hanging or Strangulation. — Where a cord has been used, a circular mark will be perceived around the neck ; in other instances, ecchymoses will be found on the neck; the face livid; tongue swollen and project- ing, and mouth frothy. On dissection, the vessels of the pia mater and the jugular veins are gorged with blood, and the lungs are livid and covered with spotsf. It is objected to the correctness of any decision unfa- vourable to the accused, that all these signs may have been the result of accidental strangulation, from the umbilical cord encircling the neck of the child while yet in the uterus. Instances of this kind have doubt- less occurredj, but they are rare, and can only happen when the cord is of an extraordinary length^. They can also be very easily distinguished from wilful stran- gulation after birth, by experiments upon the lungs. In the former, the child cannot have respired ; and this will be indicated by the application of the various tests which have been pointed out. Besides this, there are other marks of discrimination. In the latter, there are perhaps the traces of fingers left on the neck in the form of ecchymoses; or an excoriation of the epider- mis ; while in the former, from the lubricity of the um- bilical cord, this will not be found. There is another accident sometimes occurring to the cord, which it is of consequence to recollect :— it is * Goodwyn on the Connection of Life and Respiration ; and Edinburgh Encyc. Art. Drowning. t Med. Leg. &c. par Mahon, torn. ii. p. 410. % Burns' Midwifery, p. 142, 3d Ed. 4 Burns says the usual length of the cord is two feet. p. 142. 79 the formation of knots in it, occasioned probably by the child passing through a coil of it during labour. Smel- lie relates an extraordinary instance of this kind*. A similar one fell under the notice of Dr. Hosack. Now in cases of this kind, where the child was born dead, or died a short time after, ignorance might impute the existence of these knots to a criminal intention on the part of the mother. The method of detecting this, is similar to that in the former case. The length of the cord must be noticed, as they can only take place where it is very long; and experiments must be made upon the lungs to determine if the child was born alive. When the child has been smothered under bed- clothes, &c. the circumstances upon which to form a decision, that wilful murder has been committed, besides those which characterize strangulation generally, are, the place where the body is found ; the floating of tFte^*^* > lungs; and the absence of any other probable cause to which its death can be attributed # When respiration has been interrupted by articles put >f^H *H into the mouth, nostrils, or throat, dissection can alone detect the cause. * Ml The child may also have been suffocated by the turning back of the tongue upon the epiglottis. This can only be caused when there is some natural defi- ciency in the frsenum of the tongue, or when it has been lacerated, either by the child itself in the act of sucking, or by the application of violence. If, therefore, a child has not sucked, and the frsenum is found torn, it is just to conclude, that it must have been the effect of cri- minal interference"!". * Smellie's Midwifery, vol. ii. p. 142.. Burns' Midwifery, p. 14.2. t Fodere's Aied. Leg. torn. iv. p. 495. 80 4. Luxation and fracture of the neck has been caused by forcibly twisting the head of the child, or pulling it backwards*. In such cases, the vertibrae are fractur- ed, the ligaments ruptured, and death is caused by the injury inflicted upon the spinal marrow. This will be known from the local derangements, and from the po- sition of the head ; and on dissection, from the blood found effused amongst the cervical muscles, or in the vertebral canal, and from the fracture of the first or second vertebra, or both. 5. Exposure to noxious airs. — This is a mode of de- stroying life which cannot be frequently resorted to. Women have been known, however, to destroy their offspring by exposing them to the fumes of sulphur. According to Alberti, this may be known, on dissec- tion, from the livid appearance of the lungsf. 6. Poisons. — These may be introduced into the sys- tem in various ways- They may be inhaled into the lungs, in the form of odours ; or they may be taken into the stomach, mixed with food ; or they may be receiv- ed in the form of injections ; or be absorbed through the skin. When the poisonous substance has been taken into the stomach and intestines, it should be carefully ex- amined, and subjected to the various tests, which che- mistry supplies for detecting its' presence. In cases where the cutaneous absorbents have been the medium of conveying it into the system, it may be very difficult, generally, to discover the cause of death. In some in- * Mahon's Med. Leg. torn. ii. p. 409. f M4d. L6g. &c. de Mahon, torn. ii. p. 412, Cx/U-O^' < ua< <* \^t- h*n (JlXJLt^U. f- P LcL/ ' ' ' ' ' * -£z 81 stances, an eruption on the skin, and the peculiar odour of the substance which has been employed, aided by the circumstantial evidence, may lead to a discovery. Such are the various means resorted to, for the pur- pose of causing the death of a new-born child It may be almost superfluous to suggest, that extreme caution is al- ways necessary in making up a decision in a case of infanticide ; for the flame of life, at that period of our existence, burns so feebly, that the slightest breath may extinguish it for ever. A child sometimes expires in convulsions, a short time after birth, without any evi- dent cause At other times, its death may be occa- sioned by causes perfectly natural, and yet so far con- cealed from observation, as to create suspicions of vio- lence having been inflicted. Introsusception is said to be common to children*, and of course can only be de- {*'i % tected on dissection ; the premature obliteration of the foramen ovalef, as well as its imperfect closure^, are also, without doubt, frequent sources of death. Circumstantial evidence. — Although this does not strictly appertain to a medical discussion of this sub- ject, yet there are some points embraced under it, con- cerning which the testimony of the Physician may be required. 1. It may be urged in excuse for a woman on a trial for child murder, that from the uncertainty of the signs of pregnancy, she might have been ignorant of her ac- tual condition, and therefore might have been sudder> * Males' Medical Jurisprudence, p. 101. + Mahon's Med. Leg. torn. ii. p. 406. $ An interesting account of two cases of this kind, which were successfully treated by Dr. Hosack, is contained in his Appendix to the Fourth American Edition of Dr. Thomas' Practice of Physic. 82 ly overtaken with the pains of labour, when it was out of her power to command assistance, and thus the child have lost its life. To all this, a very plain and concise reply may be made. However difficult it may be for a Physician to say positively in all cases whether a wo- man is pregnant or not, yet we can scarcely suppose the woman herself to entertain any doubt on the subject. If she has yielded to the solicitations of a seducer, and if she afterwards experiences those changes and deve- lopements in her system, which accompany a state of impregnation, she cannot but be conscious of her true situation, and therefore any arguments drawn from this source ought to have no weight. 2. It may be suggested, in vindication of the wo- man, that the deliverv was so rapid that it was out of her power to procure assistance, or make the necessa- ry preparations for preserving the child's life. In cases of first pregnancy, it is not very probable that the la- bour would be so speedily accomplished. The neces- sary dilatation of the parts would require a* length of time sufficient to give her proper warning of the im- pending event. In succeeding labours this might occur. Dr. W. Hunter relates a case of this kind which happened in his own practice*. The Phj sician should, therefore, always inquire if this be a first child, or if she has had others previously. Other circumstances re- lating to the delivery should also be investigated. It is not impossible that a woman may be delivered while standing, and the child have fallen upon the floor, and thus its death have been occasioned. * Observations on the Uncertainty of the Signs of Murder, in the case of Bastard Children, 83 3, The size of the child should always be noticed, and compared with the time the woman has been pregnant, if that can be discovered, tf it is a prema- ture delivery, and yet the child be full grown, it is evi- dently not hers. ,#4* £•**•.* <*►**•*■" +zzgmZL i** 01 CHAPTER III PREVENTION OF INFANTICIDE. niver- *pN^NT^ci^^hic^ ^^p^p^j^vprev^ilecj^o unn sally, and without restraint, among the most^olished y^e^ftpld^is^ow ^nsidered, inall enhght- xmn tries, as v a crime o^he cfe e^e s t cry e^*W^ kind, orr?his swJ3J r ©.8#^fed|^!fe^ed frbmtpn^ extreme to the other ; and ifos not to be questioned, bfft^tffik irtthe'preseniday, manyrlm bnocent female fs^wanton- ly sacrificed to suspicion and prejucfice.^ The pjiflmffle, however, which now guides the moral judgment of so- ciety on this subject, is undoubted'ly^psj^ jfer iH%a^ crkB%V^h]fih pue-supposes the pbliterjation of those feel-^ ings wiffth human na^?e^o^|lt v ^^e > m^s^p^gkof, land whic^^f^Quntenanced, °i\kut slightly punished, wnn1d^a v d*fc©^the most dreadful coniequence^ ■ .. m That a young female of character and reputable con- # \ilp(L and< possessed ofHe«der ^sensibility, ima^have been betrayed by^the arts of a base ieu%ce*r^aoid^hen reduced to a state of pregnancy, to avoid the disgrace which must otherwise be her lot, may stifle the birthiin the womb, or after it is born, in a state of phrenzy, im- brue her hands in her infant's blood, in the expectation of throwing the mantle of oblivion over her crime, is a case which too frequently occurs. But even such a case, with all its palliations, cannot be considered as 85 less than wilful murder, and as such demands exempla- ry punishment. It is not, however, enough for a wise legislation merely to punish crimes after they are perpetrated ; it should also adopt the most effectual means of prevent- ing their commission altogether. In the language of a Philosopher, it may be said, that " the punishment of " a crime cannot be just, if the laws have not endeav- " oured to prevent that crime bv the best means which " times and circumstances would allow*." With regard to infanticide, it is impossible to sug- gest any method of arresting it completely, unless there be a total reformation of that corruption of manners which lies at the root of the evil. Next to this, the dread of severe punishment is the most effectual pre-? ventive. Foundling Hospitals were also founded with this intent ; whether they have this tendency I shall consider presently, after having enumerated the laws enacted by different nations, for the purpose of preventing and punishing this crime. THE HISTORY OF LEGISLATION ON THE SUBJECT OF INFANTICIDE. Laws against abortion. — Although the Jewish code specifies nothing relative to criminal abortion, or to the murder of the new-born infant, yet it decreed, that if a pregnant woman should be accidentally injured in a fray between two men, so that she proved abortive, with- out any injury to her own person, the punishment was a fine, such " as the judges might determine.'' If the woman received any personal damage, the law of re- * Beccaria's Essay on Crimes and Punishments, p. 104, New- York FA M 86 taliation was then to operate, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. . torn, m p. 583. I Ibid. p. 384, I Article 317. For & transition ::" the T ..;k iode, see Walsh's American Review, vol. ii. 87 The criminal code of Austria, established in 1787. by Joseph II. in which the punishment of death is to- tally abolished, decrees, that " a woman with child, " using means to procure abortion, shall be punished " with imprisonment for not less than 15, nor more i; than 30 years, and condemnation to the public works ; " augmented, when married,"— " Accomplices advising and recommending abortion ; • ; — imprisonment not less than one month, nor more i; than five years, and condemnation to the public M works. The punishment to be increased, when the ;t accomplice is the father of the infant*." The English Law is thus stated by Blackstone. " If a woman is quick with child, and, by a po- " tion, or otherwise, killeth it in her womb, or, if any " one beat her, whereby the child dieth in her body, " and she is delivered of a dead child, this, though not " murder, was by the ancient law homicide, or man- " slaughter. But the modern law doth not look upon " this offence in quite so atrocious a light, but merely as ;i a heinous misdemeanour*)"." " But if the child be born " alive, and afterwards die in consequence of the potion ;; or beating, it will be murder%" By a subsequent law, enacted in 1803, called the Ellenborough act, it was or- dained, that " if any person shall wilfully and maliciously " administer to, or cause to be administered to, or take 44 any medicine, drug, or other substance or thing what " soever, or use, or cause to be used or employed, any 44 instrument, &c. with intent to procure the miscarriage " of any woman, not being, or not being proved to be ;4 quick with child at the time of committing such thing, * Treatise on the Police of London, by P. Colquhoun, L. L, D. 7th YA, p. 656. t Blackstone's Commectarie5, vol. i. p. 129. + Ibid. Note by Christian. 88 " or using such means, then, and in every such case, the " persons so offending, their counselors, aiders, and " abettors, shall be, and are declared guilty of felony, t; and shall be liable to be fined, imprisoned, set in and < ; upon the pillory, publicly or privately whipped, or u transported beyond the sea for any term not exceed- * ; ing 14 years*. " The Law of Scotland, on this subject, appears to dif- fer. Mr. Hume, in his Commentaries on the Criminal Law of Scotland, says, that all procuring of abortion, or destruction of future birth, whether quick or not, is excluded from the idea of murder, because, though it be quick, still it is only pars viscerum matris, and not a separate being of which it can with certainty be said, whether it would have become a quick birth or not. Since Mr. Hume wrote, a case occurred in the High Court of Justiciary, where the subject was discussed. A Surgeon and Midwife were indicted for the violent procuring of abortion, were convicted and sent to Bo- tany Bay for 14 yearst. " In the State of New-York, there is no statute law, " by which the procuring of abortion is declared a u crime; and it is, therefore, only punishable according " to the common law of England, which has been M adopted in this country. Lord Ellenborough's act " has, however, no force here, and we of course return " to the law, by which it is declared a misdemeanour. " As such, it can only be considered in our courts, and " the only punishments which our judges are enabled 44 to inflict, are fine and imprisonment^." * Statutes at Large, 43, Geo. III. cap. t Edinb. Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. vi. p. 249. i MS. Lectures on Legal Medicine, by T. E. Beck, M D. &c. 89 Laws against the murder of the new-born infant — These, in almost all civilized countries, are capital. Previously to the fourth century, the edicts of the Roman empe- rors against this crime were partial and ineffectual ; towards the latter part of that century, however, it was completely prohibited. The following is the article relating to it in Cod, Justin, lib. iv. tit. 52. de infant, expositis, 1, 2. " Unus quisque sobolem suam nu- " triat; quod si exponendam putaverit, animadversioni, " quae constituta est, subjacebit*." The emperor Charles V. condemned the mother io death only in cases, where it could be proved that the child had been born alivef . In 1556, Henry IJ. of France, made a law condemn- ing to death every woman convicted of having con- cealed her pregnancy, and put to death a bastard child. This law prevailed until the year 1791 J, when every thing relating to the concealment of pregnancy was repealed, and death declared to be the punishment of the murder of the child. The penal code of the French empire, enacted, that " every person guilty of assassination, parricide, infanti- " cide^ or poisoning, shall suffer death." — Art 302. Other articles provide against the exposure and abandonment of infants : " Those who shall expose " and abandon in a solitary place, a child under seven " years of age, and those who may order it to be ex- " posed, shall, on that account alone, if such order be " executed, be imprisoned for a term not less than six * Beckman's Hist, of Inventions, vol. iv. p. 437. t Fodere's M6d. L%. torn. iv. p. 396. % Ibid. p. 395. 90 • months, and not more than two years, and fined from " 16 to 200 francs."— Art. 349. And, " if in consequence of such exposition or aban- " donment, the child shall be mutilated or crippled, the " act shall be considered and punished as in the case " of wounds voluntarily inflicted, and if the conse- e4 quence be death, it shall be considered and punished " as murder" — Art. 35 1 # . The Austrian Law provides, that " exposing a living " infant, in order to abandon it to danger and death ; " or to leave its deliverance to chance ; whether the " infant so exposed suffers death or not, shall be punish- " ed by imprisonment for not less than eight nor more M than twelve years ; to be increased under circum- " stances of aggravation!." In Saxony, infanticide is punished with the same se- verity as parricide ; the culprit is put into a bag, with a dog, a cat, a cock, and a serpent, and then thrown into the waterj. Although the Chinese have no law prohibiting the exposure of children, yet they inflict a slight punish- ment for the wanton murder of them. The following is the law on that subject : " If a father, mother, pater- " nal grandfather or grandmother, chastises a disobe- u dient child in a severe and uncustomary manner, so M that he or she dies, the party so offending shall be 64 punished with 100 blows§." * American R.eview, vol. ii. p. 396. t Colquhoun on the Police of London, p. 66. 4 Specimen Juridicum, &c. Lugduni Bat. p. 44. $ LaTsing Leu Lee ; being the fundamental laws, and a selection from the supplementary statutes of the Penal Code of China, by Sir George Staunton, F. R. S. p. 347. Quart. Rev. vol. iii.p. 312, 13. 91 The English Law on this subject, has, within a few years, been materially changed. By the Stat. 21, Jac. I, c. 27, it is enacted, " that if " any woman be delivered of any issue of her body, " which, being born alive, should by the laws of this " realm be a bastard ; and that she endeavour private- " ly, either by drowning, or secret burying thereof, or " any other way, either by herself or the procuring of " others, so to conceal the death thereof, as that it may " not come to light whether it were born alive or not, " but be concealed : in every such case, the said mo- " ther so ofiendjbg, shall suffer death as in the case of " murder, except she can prove, by one witness at the " least, that the child whose death was by her so in- " tended to be concealed, was born dead*." Upon this statute, Blackstone remarks, " This law, " which savours pretty strongly of severity, in making " the concealment of the death almost exclusive evi- " dence of the child being murdered by the mother, is " nevertheless to be also met with in the criminal codes " of many other nations of Europe ; as the Danes, the " Swedes, and the French^. This cruel law has since been mitigated. In 1803, an act was passed, in that country, which decrees, that " women tried for the murder of bastard ic children, are to be tried by the same rules of evi- i( > dence and presumption, as bj law are allowed to " take place in other trials of murder: if acquitted, and iC it shall appear, on evidence, that the prisoner was 6i delivered of a child, which by law would, if born '-' alive, be bastard, and that she did, by secret bury- " ing, or otherwise, endeavour to conceal the birth * East's Crown Law, vol. i. p. 228. t Blackstoue's Commentaries, vol. iv. p. 198. 92 " thereof, thereupon it shall be lawful for such court. u before which such prisoner shall have been tried, to • 4 adjudge, that such person shall be committed to the " common goal, or house of correction, for any time " not exceeding two years." " In the State of New-York, we have no particular " law concerning this crime, and as the English sta- " tutes are not in force, all trials for infanticide must " of course be conducted according to the common " law, and accessary circumstances can only be consi- " dered as proving the intent*." FOUNDLING HOSPITALS. Foundling Hospitals, by providing for the support of illegitimate children, are generally considered as a great means of preventing child murder. The object of these institutions is no doubt commendable ; but it is certain that they are not productive of that decided utility, which is usually attributed to them. It is not to be denied that some good results from them, but it is by no means commensurate with the abuses to which they give rise. That they encourage illicit commerce between the sexes ; discountenance marriage ; increase the number of illegitimate children, and consequently the number of exposures ; — are facts confirmed by the history of almost every Foundling Hospital that has been established. Mr. Malthus states facts of this kind with regard to the Foundling Hospital in Peters- burgh, (Russia.) " To have a child," says he, £i was * T, R. Beck's MS, Lectures en Legal Medicine^ 93 " considered as one of the most trifling faults a girl " could commit. An English merchant at Petersburgh " told me, that a Russian girl living in his family, under " a mistress who was considered as very strict, had " sent six children to the Foundling Hospital without -" the loss of her place*." It is not necessary to en- ter into a laboured course of reasoning, to prove that the effects of these establishments are decidedly injurious to the moral character of a people. — It is a position sufficiently self-evident, and as Mai thus just- ly remarks, " an occasional child murder, from false " shame, is saved at a very high price, if it can only be " done by the sacrifice of some of the best and most " useful feelings of the human heart in a great part of " the nation*)"." There is, however, another objection to Foundling Hospitals. The history of such establishments, proves that they utterly fail of accomplishing their object, which is the preservation of the lives of children. The records of those which have been kept with the great- est care, exhibit the most astonishing mortality of the children. In Paris, in the year 1 790, more than 23,000, and in 1800, about b2,000 children were brought in; and it is estimated, that H of all the foundlings perish an- nually through hunger and neglect^. It is stated also, that vast numbers of the children die from a disease called Pendurcissement du tissu cel;u!aire§, which is only to be met with in the Foundling Hospital. Of 100 foundlings in the Foundling Hospital at Vien- * Mai thus on Population, vol. i. p. 368, 9. t [bid. p 370. % Beckman's History oflnventions. vol. iv. p. 456,7, k Cross 1 Medical Sketches of Paris, p. 197, 1815. M ^94 na, 54 died in tfefi 1789. In the Hospital at Metz, cal- culation showed that seven eights of the whole number of children perished. In an Institution of this kind in one of the German principalities, only one of the found- lings, in 20 years, attained to manhood*. The Foundling Hospital of London, exhibits a more favourable picture. The average of those who died there under 12 months, in 10 years, was only 1 in 6, and for the last four or five years, even less in propor- tionf. The general fact is, however, sufficiently evident, that the lives of multitudes of children are sacrificed in these Hospitals. The causes too are evident — In some instances, it arises from the want of nurses, or the mismanagement and cruelty of those that are em- ployed ; in others, from the delicacy of the infant, and the want of its mother's nourishment. But do Foundling Hospitals diminish the number of infanticides ? We have no evidence of such a result flowing from them. From the deleterious influence which they have upon the moral feelings of the female sex, we cannot believe that it is the case. And it is ac- cordingly stated, that after the Foundling Institution of Cassel was established, not a year elapsed without some children being found murdered in that place or its vi- cinity J. * Beckman on Inventions, vol.iv p. 456, 7. 1 Highrnore's History of the public charities in and near London,, p. 727. Rees 1 Cyclopedia, Art Hospital, i Beckman's Hist, of Inventions, vol. iv. p. 45S= 95 Note.— The following account of the deaths in the different Foundling Hospitals of Europe, will afford ample testimony in sup- port of the opinion already advanced. It is taken from the Edin- burgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. i. p. 321, 2, " In 1751, Sir John Blaquiere stated to the House of Commons " of Ireland, that of 19,420 infants admitted into the Foundling " Hospital of Dublin, during the last ten years, 17,440 were dead. " or unaccounted for ; and that of 21 80 admitted during 1790, on- " ly 187 were then alive. In 1797, he got a committee of the " same House appointed, to inquire into the state and management " of that Institution. They gave in their Report on the 8th of ■• May, 1797 ; by which it appeared, that within the quarter, end- " ing the 24th March last, 540 children were received into the " Hospital, of whom, in the same space of time, 450 died ; that, in '' the last quarter, the official report of the Hospital stated the " deaths at three, while the actual number was found to be 203 ; " that from the 25th March to 13th April, nineteen days, 116 in- " fants were admitted ; of which number, there died 112. With- " in the last six years, there were admitted 12,786 ; died in that " time 12.651 ; so that in six years, only 135 children were sav- " ed to the public and to the world. " In the Charite of Berlin, where some enjoyed the advantage " of being born in the House, and of being suckled by their mo- " thers six weeks 1 scarcely a fourth part survived one month. " Every child born in the Hotel Dieu of Paris, was seized with 61 a kind of malignant aphthae, called le muguet, and not one sur- " vived who remained in the house. " At Grenoble, of every 100 received, 25 died the first year ; at 11 Lyons, 36; at Rochelle, 50; at Munich, 57; and at Montpel- (i Her, even 60. At Cassel, only 10 out of 741 lived 14 years. In " Rouen, one in 27 reached manhood, but half of these in so mise- " rable a state, that of 108, only 2 could to be added to the useful " population. In Vienna, notwithstanding the princely income of " the Hospital, scarcely one in 19 is preserved. In Petersburgh, " under the most admirable management and vigilant inspection of " the Empress Dowager, 1200 die annually out of 3650 received. " In Moscow, with every possible advantage, out of 37,607 admit- : ted in the course of 20 years, only 1020 were sent out. ERRATA. Page 56 line 6 from bottom, for Teichmeyer — read Brendelius. Page 67 for torn. iv. p. 460 — read torn, ii.p. 456. 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