Evidence in Judaism and Christianity
While we also find discrimination in the treatment of women within the religions of Judaism and Christianity, there were safeguards in both practices to prevent social acceptance of infanticide by its people. The Jews were clearly against the taking of any human life, and generally forbade the killing of any newborn. Each life was a gift of God and only the Holy Father could extinguish its flame. [15] Because of these facts, infanticide was rare and never socially accepted by the Jews.
Some early Christian parents did actually expose unwanted female infants to the elements, as was evident in the writings of the Church Fathers who were concerned over future acts of incest. Saint Justin Martyr cautioned that …show more content…
In most cultures girls have little to no value. Even when female children were not killed at birth, their needs were neglected, particularly if there are limited resources that are needed to ensure the survival of male offspring. In tribal societies, male babies were preferred because males grew up to be hunters and warriors, while young females were seen as a threat because they may attract males from neighboring tribes.
In cultures with high male-to-female population ratios, it is an obvious sign of selective female infanticide. Sex-ratio evidence suggests that female infanticide dates way back to Roman times. Men were more valuable as laborers and warriors. A common Roman expression was, "Everyone raises a son, including a poor man, but even a rich man will abandon a daughter" …show more content…
To avoid shame and censure, women have secretively killed their illegitimate offspring since early Roman times. Illegitimacy and poverty are the most common reasons for infanticide in the twenty-first century.
Superstition
Finally, superstitious beliefs regarding children and childbirth contributed to infanticide. In some cultures, twins were believed to be evil and were immediately killed. In some tribal societies, twins of opposite gender were believed to have committed incest while in their mother and were also murdered at birth. Other superstitions involve unlucky days of the week, the presence of baby teeth at birth, or certain weather conditions during birth.
Methods of Infanticide:
As the factors leading to infanticide vary from culture to culture and age to age, the methods involved change as well. Clearly some methods reflect cultural beliefs regarding the value of children. Other methods reflect ignorance about how to properly care for an infant.
Abandonment and
While we also find discrimination in the treatment of women within the religions of Judaism and Christianity, there were safeguards in both practices to prevent social acceptance of infanticide by its people. The Jews were clearly against the taking of any human life, and generally forbade the killing of any newborn. Each life was a gift of God and only the Holy Father could extinguish its flame. [15] Because of these facts, infanticide was rare and never socially accepted by the Jews.
Some early Christian parents did actually expose unwanted female infants to the elements, as was evident in the writings of the Church Fathers who were concerned over future acts of incest. Saint Justin Martyr cautioned that …show more content…
In most cultures girls have little to no value. Even when female children were not killed at birth, their needs were neglected, particularly if there are limited resources that are needed to ensure the survival of male offspring. In tribal societies, male babies were preferred because males grew up to be hunters and warriors, while young females were seen as a threat because they may attract males from neighboring tribes.
In cultures with high male-to-female population ratios, it is an obvious sign of selective female infanticide. Sex-ratio evidence suggests that female infanticide dates way back to Roman times. Men were more valuable as laborers and warriors. A common Roman expression was, "Everyone raises a son, including a poor man, but even a rich man will abandon a daughter" …show more content…
To avoid shame and censure, women have secretively killed their illegitimate offspring since early Roman times. Illegitimacy and poverty are the most common reasons for infanticide in the twenty-first century.
Superstition
Finally, superstitious beliefs regarding children and childbirth contributed to infanticide. In some cultures, twins were believed to be evil and were immediately killed. In some tribal societies, twins of opposite gender were believed to have committed incest while in their mother and were also murdered at birth. Other superstitions involve unlucky days of the week, the presence of baby teeth at birth, or certain weather conditions during birth.
Methods of Infanticide:
As the factors leading to infanticide vary from culture to culture and age to age, the methods involved change as well. Clearly some methods reflect cultural beliefs regarding the value of children. Other methods reflect ignorance about how to properly care for an infant.
Abandonment and