Every person is entitled to life and to live it according to how they want it. From birth, it is the parents’ responsibility to love and nurture their children, alongside with their other family members. However, some meet their untimely demise even just a few hours after birth, and at the hands of their own family. Infanticide is defined as the killing of an infant either by its mother, grandparents, or even a third person. It is a specific crime against persons under the Revised Penal Code, as it is an act that is committed wilfully or consciously. Despite it being relatively similar to abortion and parricide, it is still essentially different. It is important to take note of the differences between infanticide, abortion, and parricide since their legal consequences would also differ.
Legal Basis
Each individual person is naturally given the right to life. As stipulated in Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution, no one must be deprived of life, liberty, and property without due process nor anyone be denied equal protection1. The right to life is one of the basic rights awarded to each person from conception. Other state policies also strengthen this provision by stating that it is the state’s duty to protect the lives of the mother and their unborn child.
Elements
Killing an infant does not automatically constitute infanticide. The revised penal code provides the elements or the general rule in classifying infanticide. The elements are as follows:
- The victim is a child
- The child must born, capable of independent existence, and not be more than 3 days old
- The accused killed the child wilfully
Defenses and Mitigation
Defenses are available for the accused that may mitigate his or her consequences. One defense that can be made is the failure to prove live birth due to intervening natural causes. Since it is important for infanticide cases that the child is born before being killed. Another defense or mitigation is the lack of intent to kill. If this is not proven, the ruling may become in favor of the accused. Other defenses can be exempting or ordinary mitigating circumstances if proven.
Abortion, Infanticide, Parricde Differences
Although abortion, parricide, and infanticide are all murder in essence, these three have differences which differ in their legal consequences as well. Abortion is the killing and death inside the womb – making the fetus not viable for life. It is a pre-natal death. Infanticide on the other hand is post-natal killing. The child must have been born, capable of living an independent life. Parricide is the killing of a descendant by his or her ascendant.
Legal Consequence
The revised penal code provides the legal consequences for the offender, and it differs with who committed the crime. Its general penalty is that the punishment is imposed on anyone, regardless if the offender is a relative or third person. The penalty is also based on parricide or murder resulting into reculsion perpetua to death. If it is the mother committed the crime, the penalty is mitigated for her. If it was done to conceal her dishonor, the punishment is prison correccional in its minimum and maximum periods. When it’s the maternal grandparents (parents of the mother), the same mitigated penalty applies if done for the same purpose. It must be noted that circumstances of the crime may either mitigate or aggravate the penalty.
In the case of People vs Adalia, Giralyn Adalia secretly gave birth to her daughter, and the infant’s lifeless body was discovered with the umbilical cord and placenta. The court convicted her of infanticide after a chain of circumstantial evidence have been presented (concealed delivery, medical findgins, finding of the corpse); despite the lack of direct eye witness. Adalia was punished with reclusion perpetua and and liable for civil damages as well2.
- Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. (1987). Article III: Bill of Rights. Supreme Court E-Library. https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/45/25549 ↩︎
- People v. Adalia (G.R. No. 235990). (2020, January 22). Supreme Court of the Philippines. https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/66026 ↩︎
