Elements of medical jurisprudence / By Theodric Romeyn Beck.

  • Theodric Romeyn Beck
Date:
1825
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Elements of medical jurisprudence / By Theodric Romeyn Beck. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    191/708 page 127
    CHAPTER VIII. INF ANTICIDE.** 1, History of infanticide among different nations, ancient and modern.—2. Definition of infanticide—of the murder of the foetus in utero, or criminal abortion—period at which the foetus is to be considered as possessing life—proofs of abortion de- rived from an examination of the living and dead mother-—causes of abortion, criminal and involuntary—examination of the foetus.—3. Of the murder of the child after it is born—proofs of infanticide derived from an examination of the child—proofs of the blood having circulated after birth—(a) appearance after birth—(a) of the floating of the lungs in water—examination of the objections to this test—(b) Ploucquet’s test—examination of objections to this test—(c) Daniel’s test-—(d) descent of the diaphragm—(e) diminution of the size of the liver—¢f) discharge of the meconium—(g) state of the urinary bladder—Capability of the child’s living after birth—The various means used for perpetrating infanticide—infanticide by omission—infanticide by commission, — 4, Of the method of conducting anatomical examinations in cases of infanticide. —5. Prevention of infanticide—history of legislation on the subject of infanticide —foundling hospitals, ty discussing the subject of Infanticide, the following order will be observed : | 1. The history of Infanticide, as it has prevailed in different nations, ancient and modern. /2. The murder of the foetus in utero, or criminal abortion, embracing an account of its proofs and causes. A COO TC CECE * Iam indebted for this chapter to my brother, John B. Beck, M.D. of New- York, It is well known that Infanticide formed the subject of his Inaugural Disser- tation in 1817; and I trust fraternal partiality will be pardoned, when I cite the following testimonies in commendation of it. “ I have been favoured,” says Dr, Smith of London, in the preface to his work on legal medicine, “ with the perusal of an inaugural dissertation on infanticide, by Dr. Beck of New-York, which has afforded me great satisfaction. It is but justice,” he adds, “ to mention, that the American schools have outstripped us in attention*to forensic medicine.” The Editors of the American Medical Recorder (vol. 2, p. 432,) remark, that “ this dissertation is unquestionably the most complete in all its parts, that we have ever seen on this subject.” Judge Cooper, also, in several parts of his Tracts on Medi- cal Jurisprudence, speaks of it with high approbation, At my request, my brother _ consented to revise the subject-matter of his dissertation, and prepare it for publi- cation in the present work. This he has accordingly done ; and the chapter will be found to contain much valuable and original matter, not embraced in his previous essay. T.R. B &
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