On September 23 and 24, 2010 LEAF will be intervening at the Ontario Court of Appeal regarding the offence of infanticide in the Criminal Code. LEAF aims to offer the court a perspective that will shed light on infanticide as a homicide offence that is distinct from murder.

Moreover, according to LEAF’s press release, they will argue that “where the elements of infanticide are present, the infanticide offence should be available to women regardless of whether the Crown charges murder. This approach is consistent with the clear intention of Parliament to include the offence of infanticide in the Criminal Code.”

LEAF’s Legal Director, Joanna Birenbaum, stated that “infanticide is treated differently in law than murder because of the many overlapping social, cultural, psychological and medical factors which may affect the state of mind of accused women following childbirth.  It is a very serious crime, but it is a crime which recognizes the reduced culpability of women [who have recently given birth] whose minds are “disturbed” due to the interaction of these complex factors related to childbirth.”