Infanticide

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Infanticide
2
Abigail Hayworth, the author of an article
titled, "The Baby We Can't Ignore" in Marie
Claire (June 200172-73) was very upset at the
picture to the left.  At the beginning of her
article, she states   "This picture is deeply
shocking, but we feel that such contempt for life
must be brought to your attention.  A newborn
baby lies dead in the street, discarded like a
piece of trash to the indifference of passersby. 
She is just another heartbreaking victim of
China's ruthless one-child policy."
3
Pro-life advocates would agree with Hayworth, but
believe that the abortion of the 19-week-old
fetus to the right shows just as much "contempt
for life" as does infanticide in China.  What
anthropological explanation might there be for
why the majority of Americans reject infanticide 
but accept abortion?
4
The reasons why women choose to have an abortion
in the U.S. are not that different from the
reasons why people practice infanticide in other
societies. They largely involve the practical
considerations associated with the cost of having
a child.
5
Compared to other industrial societies, the U.S.
has a very high pregnancy rate. It also has a
very high abortion rate, which results in a
fertility rate about half the pregnancy rate.
6
The next two slides show that the bulk of
abortions in the U.S. are performed on poor,
single, young and disproportionately minority
women, underscoring the economic considerations
influencing the decision to have an abortion.
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(No Transcript)
8
Neither Pro-choice nor Pro-life advocates can
claim the undisputed moral upper hand. As the
table to the right shows, established religious
denominations can be found on both sides of the
issue. In fact, the two largest religious
denominations are officially Pro-life. Abortion
is clearly still a controversial issue in the
U.S.
9
The following letters to the editor in the
Philadelphia Inquirer (November 21, 1996),
written in response to the Grossberg-Peterson
infanticide killings, illustrate the ambiguous
line separating abortion from infanticide.
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Late-Term Abortion Partial-Term Abortion
11
Australian Aborigines Australian aboriginal
societies removed on average every child above
the desired number of three per family. This
resulted in an estimated infanticide rate of
between 20 40 of live births. Adult
Pre-Contact M/F Sex Ratios were 150/100, based
on geneological data.
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The Ecology of Kung Birth Spacing
13
To understand the cost of having a baby among
the Ju/hoansi, we need to know how much a child
weighs at different ages. This is the cost that
the woman must bear if she has to carry her
children while foraging for food.
14
If you multiply the weight of the child by the
distance that a woman travels, you can establish
an operational definition of the cost that a
woman must pay for having one or more children.
15
This table shows how much weight in the form of a
child that a woman must carry if she gives birth
to a child every four years.
16
This table shows how much weight in the form of
children a woman must carry, depending on how
frequently she has children.
17
Using the information on the previous tables, one
can see how much the cost of having a child
increases as the frequency of having children
increases.
18
The cost of having children decreases
substantially among those Ju/hoansi who have
settled down to farming compared to those who are
nomadic.
At the same time, the benefits of having children
increases. Thus, we see a decrease in the birth
interval among settled Ju/hoansi and an increase
in the total number of children a settled
Ju/hoansi woman has.
19
Inuit Infanticide Franz Boas Netsilik Sex
Ratio (1902) 138 boys and 66 girls 209
males / 100 females ______________________________
_______________ Rasmussen Netsilik (1923)
--96 births in 18 marriages / 38 girls
killed --Adult Population 150 males
/ 109 females ____________________________________
_________
20
Yanomamo Sex Ratio Data (Male/Female) Age
Group Central Villages Peripheral
Villages 0 14 157 / 100 126
/ 100 all ages 130 / 100 115 /
100 _____________________________________________
Explanation preferential female infanticide,
followed by differential male mortality in
warfare
21
Study of 160 Chinese Women over 50 Total
Fertility 631 sons / 538 daughters M / F
117 / 100 158 females had been killed / 0
males Subsequent Sex Ratio M / F 166 /
100 __________________________________________
22
Japan Birth control techniques used 1.
Abortion (chemical and mechanical) 2.
Infanticide --preferred by rural peasants a.
10 25 of live births b. less risky c.
allowed removal of defectives d. facilitated
manipulation of sex ratio
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Japanese Sex Ratios 1750 1000 males / 876
females M/F ratio 114/100 _________________
_____________________ Japanese sex ratios
declined steadily, but did not achieve parity
until 1950. ______________________________________
_ In 1750, Japan was an agricultural society.
By 1950, Japan was a major
industrial power.
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• Infanticide Must be Understood as Part of a
  Familys Overall Family Planning Behavior.
• The decision regarding how many children a couple
  will have is determined by a variety of
  considerations.
• Understanding the Cost/Benefit considerations
  that a couple faces is a powerful predictor of
  fertility behavior.
• 3. This includes not only the number of
  children a family will produce, but also the sex
  of those children.

25
Many social scientists view child neglect and
child abuse as a form of delayed infanticide and
claim that it occurs not only in rural
pre-industrial societies, but within
technologically advanced industrial societies as
well. Some have even begun to question how many
SIDS deaths may actually be cases of infanticide.
26
Infant mortality rates are very high in many
under-developed countries, making it difficult to
be assured of having many children survive to
adulthood.
27
Even the worst cities for infant mortality in the
U.S. have only a fraction of the infant mortality
rates that are common throughout much of the
Third World.
28
Children are an important productive resource in
pre-industrial farming communities.
29
Parents throughout the world, most notably rural
farmers and the urban poor in developing
countries, depend heavily on their children when
they get old.
30
Cost of Children in U.S. (Price Waterhouose for
New York Times) New York City married
professional couple with one child under age
4. One Paycheck Two
Paychecks Income Husband 70,000
Husband 70,000 Wife 50,000 Total
Income 70,000 120,000 Taxes
Federal, State, Local, Soc. Sec. Total
Taxes 21,848 44,534 Additional Expenses
Child Care, Work Clothing,
Commuting, Lunches/coffee 21,385 Total
Expenses 21,848 65,919 Net Income
48,152 54,061
31
Children and Earning Power     
One Two Three or
More Child Children
Children     Chinatown 36,520
19,357 19,000 Washington Heights
37,000 28,085 35,800 Morningside Heights
19,924 30,240 39,372 East Harlem
48,000 27,500 22,488 Central Harlem
52,000 42,148 43,732 Chelsea 48,750
24,200 14,000 Greenwich Village 60,300
44,500 80,150 Upper West Side
98,650 122,000 100,400 Upper East
Side 120,000 142,000 302,975
___________________________________________
Having more children tends to reduce a familys
earning power in the U.S., except among the
wealthiest portion of American society.