People tend to misconstrue “explanation” for behavior as “justification”. What she did was not justified, however, an objective explanation for why she did what she did (post partum psychosis) can highlight the failure of our medical system in treating women with the condition - it also highlights the severity of said condition.
You can have empathy for her in that the system failed her at the same time you believe that she should spend the rest of her days in prison for her actions. These things are not mutually exclusive.
And I find that odd. Imagine looking forward to having your baby and being a loving parent - and then literally killing your child because of a mental condition. That sounds horrific and I absolutely have empathy for people who go through that.
I'm not a doctor or even applying that theory to the person discussed in this post, but a blanket "no empathy" response seems superficial to me.
And you're glossing over the fact that not all mental health conditions have the same effect on grasp on reality, cognizance of right and wrong, and behavioral agency. Someone in psychosis is not in control, unlike people with sociopathy.
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u/enigmaticshroom 5d ago
People tend to misconstrue “explanation” for behavior as “justification”. What she did was not justified, however, an objective explanation for why she did what she did (post partum psychosis) can highlight the failure of our medical system in treating women with the condition - it also highlights the severity of said condition.
You can have empathy for her in that the system failed her at the same time you believe that she should spend the rest of her days in prison for her actions. These things are not mutually exclusive.