The Infanticide Act ( sv, Barnamordsplakatet), often referred to as "Infanticide act of Gustav III" (') after its instigator

Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

, was a historical

Swedish law The law of Sweden is a civil law system, whose essence is manifested in its dependence on statutory law. Sweden's civil law tradition, as in the rest of Europe, is founded on classical Roman law, but on the German (rather than Napoleonic) model. ...

, which was introduced in 1778 and in effect until 1917, with alterations in 1856. The law was introduced in order to prevent

infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose is the prevention of reso ...

s, the killings of newborn children outside of marriage, and granted mothers both the right and the means for an

anonymous birth An anonymous birth is a birth where the mother gives birth to a child without disclosing her identity, or where her identity remains unregistered. In many countries, anonymous births have been legalized for centuries in order to prevent formerly f ...

. Its 1856 amendment however restricted this to a mere confidential birth, where the

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

was ordered to keep the mother's name in a sealed envelope to allow the grown-up child to request undisclosure of its biological

ancestry An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

Original act of 1778

The problem of infanticide was since long acknowledged to be affected by the social stigma condemning unmarried mothers: previously, a reform of 1741 abolished the Public humiliation punishment of ''

Uppenbar kyrkoplikt (literally: 'church duty') was a historical form of punishment, practiced in Sweden-Finland. It was a form of public humiliation in which the condemned was made to confess and repent of their crime before being rehabilitated and spared further ...

'' for unmarried mothers to prevent infanticide,Ohlander, Ann-Sofie, Kärlek, död och frihet: historiska uppsatser om människovärde och livsvillkor i Sverige, Norstedt, Stockholm, 1985 and the Infanticide Act of 1778 was a continuation of this work. It allowed for mothers to give birth anonymously, to spare them social embarrassment and difficulty. It also forbade the

to ask for the name of the father, which they had previously been obliged to do. The mother was allowed to leave her home area and give birth in an area where she was unknown without having to answer any questions about her identity. The birth certificate should only include the date of the birth and the name of the child, while its mother should be registered as "Mother Unknown". The child would then be placed in an

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

. However, if the father was known, he could bring the child from the orphanage, midwife or the home where the "anonymous" woman had given birth to his home as a foster child. The mother might then join him, officially as a nurse to care for the baby, and very often the couple got married. The child was then a legitimate child to the man and had his name. The word " stepmother" disappeared from most official papers, as a married woman taking care of the children in her household would be recognized legally as their mother.

1856 amendment

In 1856, the law was amended. The midwife was now ordered to advise the mother at a secret birth to write down her name and home address in a sealed envelope. The mother was then to have the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

in the town where she gave birth to put his seal on it and keep it safe. The paper could also be kept at the birth registration office. The function of the paper was to enable the mother to claim her child if she should wish it after having left it after birth. They could also be opened on request by the child. The law from 1856 states: :''“If a midwife is called upon during a confidential parturition, or, if she receives a woman in childbirth who wishes to remain anonymous, the midwife is prohibited to inquire about the name of the child's father, as well as to entice, persuade, extort, or to conduct further investigations into any potentially related information. Although the delivery may have been confidential, it is not the further task of a midwife to also conceal the child, nor to provide aid or assistance in such an undertaking. At a confidential parturition, the midwife is urged to advise the child’s mother to disclose her name and address onto a paper, sealed by herself, later to be assigned with the official seal of the vicar, to whom she is hastily to report the delivery. When the document has been signed by the concerned and provided with a seal by the vicar, the woman should be urged—for her own, as well as for the certitude of the child—to carefully store said document. ”''

1917 abolition

In 1917, the law was abolished and the possibility to give birth anonymously was criminalized.

References

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Sources

* Lindstedt Cronberg, Marie, 'Barnamordsplakatet: en straffrättsreform med oanade konsekvenser', Brottsförebyggande rådets tidskrift Apropå., 1994:1, s. 24-29, 1994 1778 in law 1856 in law 1917 in law Women's rights in Sweden Law of Sweden 1778 in Sweden 1856 in Finland 1856 in Sweden 1917 in Sweden Sweden during the Gustavian era Infanticide 1856 in women's history 1917 in women's history

Original act of 1778

1856 amendment

1917 abolition

See also

References

Sources