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ABORTION BIRTH and

INFANTICIDE



Concepts of Abortion:

• Expulsion of thecontents of a graviduterus anytimebefore full term

• Forcible expulsion of the products of conception beforethe age of viability

AGE OF VIABILITY:

fetus is potentially able to live outside the mother’s

womb albeit with respiratory aid



Legal Concept of Abortion:

… willful killing of the fetus in the uterus, or violent expulsion of the fetus from the maternal womb which results in the

death of the fetus.



clinical types of abortion:

missed abortion – ovum is destroyed byhemorrhage into the choriospace

threatened abortion–

hemorrhage withoutdilatation of the cervical os

inevitable abortion – hemorrhage withdilatation of the internal os and

presence of rhythmical pain



CAUSES of ABORTION abnormality of

the uterus

fetal death

emotional

instability

abortifacient

drugs

hormonal

deficiency trauma

hyperpyrexic

diseases



complete abortion

◦ The whole product

of conception isexpelled

incomplete

abortion

◦ Not all products of

conception are

expelled from the

uterus



The crime of abortion under the

REVISED PENAL CODE



Art. 256: INTENTIONAL ABORTION

Elements:

◦ Woman is pregnant

◦ That violence was applied, or drug was administered

◦ That the fetus dies or is expelled

◦ That the offender has the intention



Art. 257: UNINTENTIONAL ABORTION

Elements:

◦ Woman is pregnant

◦ Violence was appliedon her without the

intention of aborting

her

◦ Abortion resulted

from the violence



Art. 258: ABORTION PRACTICED BY THE WOMANHERSELF OR BY HER PARENTS

Elements:

◦ the woman ispregnant

◦ abortion is intended

to be committed

as induced by:

◦

the woman herself◦ other persons with

consent of the woman

◦ parents of the woman

for the purpose of

concealing dishonor



Art. 259: ABORTION PRACTICED BY A

PHYSICIAN OR MIDWIFE AND

DISPENSING OF ABORTIVES

• The woman is pregnant

• The physician induced or

assisted in causing the

abortion with the use of

scientific knowledge

•

There was intent



Kinds of Abortion

spontaneous

induced

◦ Therapeutic

◦ Criminal



Grounds for THERAPEUTIC ABORTION

cardiovascular conditIons

renal conditions

advanced koch’s

blood conditions and severe anemia

gynecological conditions

diabetes, exopthalmic goiter

hereditary insanity



LEGAL JUSTIFICATION to THERAPEUTIC

ABORTION

ART. 11, No. 4, RPC

◦ Any person who, in order to avoid an evil or injury,does an act which causes damage to another, providedthat the ff. requisites are present:

◦ That the evil sought to be avoided actually exists

◦

The injury feared be greater than that done to avoid it



Safeguards in performing THERAPEUTIC ABORTION

Licensed Physician

Performed to save the life

of the mother

Must be performed

openly in a hospital

setting

Secure the opinions of

other physicians

Enlightened or

Expressed Consent



Why Do Women Procure Abortion

1. To preserve life and health

2. To terminate prematurely illegitimatepregnancy in order to conceal

dishonor

3. Financial difficulty

4. To preserve body form



HOW ABORTION IS INDUCED

GENERAL VIOLENCE

Severe pressure onthe abdomen

Violent exercises

Cupping

Leeches

LOCAL VIOLENCE

Warm and cold douche

Injection of fluid into the

uterine cavity

Luminaria or tangle tent

Insertion of soft rubber

Instrumentation



Why is it difficult to prosecute Physicians ?

1. The crime is performed clandestinely

2. The physician may have several medicalreasons to justify the procedure

3. The corpus delicti is easily discarded

4. The woman herself is in connivance with thephysician

5. Lukewarm attitude of the medical society to

assist the state



Justification of ABORTION LAWS

Life begins from the momentof conception…

In a predominantly Catholic

society, abortion is consideredsinful, illicit and contrary tothe tenets.

God created man and He

alone can destroy it!



LIBERALITY OF ABORTION LAWS

• The rich can afford a clandestine, illegal but safeabortion as against the poor performing it underhigh-risk situations

• Statistics show that children born resulting fromthwarted abortion end up mentally and physicallyimpaired

• It violates a woman’s right of privacy

• Predictability of fetal status

• The abortion trend is in consonance with solvingover-population



BIRTH



LEGAL SIGNIFICANCE OF BIRTH:

• Art. 40, NCC – Birth determines

personality; but theconceived child shall be

considered born for allpurposes that are favorable to it, provided it be bornlater with the conditionsspecified in the ff. article.



Art. 41, NCCFor civil purposes, the fetusis considered born if it isalive at the time it iscompletely delivered fromthe mother’s womb.However, if the fetus had anintra-uterine life of lessthan 7 months, it is notdeemed born if it dies within24 hrs. after its delivery.



Art. 760, NCC

Every donation inter vivos

made by a person having nochildren… may be revokedor reduced… if the donor,after the donation, haschildren, even though theybe posthumous.



Concepts of BIRTH:

MEDICINE:The entire delivery of

a child with or without its

separation from the body

of the mother

It is not necessary thatthe cord should have

been cut or the placenta

expelled

The cessation of

the symbiotic

relation betweenmother and fetus



STILL BIRTH

When the child hasnot breathed or hasnot shown any signsof life after being

completely born

• CAUSES:

– Immaturity

–

Congenital diseases – Debilitating

diseases

– Disease of thegenerative organ

– Accidents in Delivery – Violence



LIVE BIRTH• PROOFS of LIFE:

– Heart activity – Movement and crying – Respiration

• chest arching• fall of the level of the

diaphragm• lung expansion:- overlapping heart

and thymus gland- voluminous and

mottled

-crepitations with frothMarble look

In LAW, the presumption

is every newborn child

found dead was born

dead.



HYDROSTATIC TEST

• FODERE’S test

• STATIC test Introduction of air into

the lungs will lower the

specific gravity

• En-Bulk immersion

• Piece-Meal immersion

• Query: What aboutputrefaction?



When is HYDROSTATIC TEST not necessary?

Intra-uterine life of less than 180 days

Monster fetus

Separated umbilical cord

Cicatrized umbilicus

Coagulated milk in the stomach

Intrauterine fetal maceration



EXPANDED

Smaller volume Sharply-projected edges

beyond thymus and heart Uniform dark color or purplish

gray

Solid feel On section, very little blood

exudes 450-650 gms. Hydrostatic test (-)

Micro: collapsed air sacs

UNEXPANDED

• Greater volume• Edges rounded and covers

the thymus and heart• Bright vermilion and mottled

lungs• Spongy and crepitant• Blood-stained frothy serum

exudes on squeezing• 900 – 1,000 gms.• Hydrostatic test (+)•

Micro: expanded air sacs



Other TESTS:

• On still-born: stomachonly contains mucous

• After respiration: mucous,

air bubbles and saliva

STOMACH-BOWELTEST

FLOATATION TEST

BRESLAU’S SECONDLIFE test

WREDIN’S TEST: middle ear is

filled with gelatinous,

embryonic connective tissue

• Skin – bright red in

color

• Vital reactions in

marks of violence



Signs of maturity of the child AT BIRTH:

• Length = 50 cm.; Weight = 3 kg.

• Lanugo absent; body plump

• Vernix caseosa; no facial wrinkles• Hair about 2 in. long

• Fingernails project, toenails no

• Testicular descent on one or both

• Vulva closed by labia

• Lower end of femur shows ossification byabout 0.6 cm.



NEONATICIDE



Art. 255, RPC : INFANTICIDE

the killing of a child less than 3 days old

Penalty imposed:

◦ Parricide (Art. 246)

◦

Murder (Art. 248)

• Lesser penalty if committed by themother to conceal

her dishonor• Or by the maternal

grandparents, or either



Motives for committing INFANTICIDE:

To conceal family dishonor

Financial constraints

Ineffective family planning

Congenital abnormality

Parental mental abnormality

Belief of Karma



How the crime of INFANTICIDE is committed:

Omission or Neglect

◦ Failure to ligate the

umbilical cord

◦ … to protect the child from

heat or cold

◦ … to secure medical or

paramedical help

◦ … to feed

◦ Accidental suffocation

Commission

◦ Inflicting physical

injuries

◦ Deliberate exposure to

heat or cold

◦ Drowning, suffocation or

strangulation

◦ Poisoning

◦ Burning

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