Infanticide

I remember someone said that "killing of the child before birth is abortion and killing of the child after birth is murder".

We are already aware of the fact that is is abortion if the child is killed before he/she is being born.  But what about killing of the child after birth, would this be called a murder?

It is not always the case.


According to the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, particularly Article 255, the killing of the child less than 3 days of age is INFANTICIDE.

Yes, the crime would be infanticide.  If the child killed is less than 3 days old exactly or less than 72 hours, reckoned from the time he/she is born, the crime is infanticide.  It does not matter who the killer is, what relationship, if any, he/she has with the child killed.

The penalty to be imposed is the same as that of penalty of MURDER.

If the child killed is already more than 3 days old, what would be the crime to be filed?

If the killer of the child is his/her mother, father or any of his/her ascendants like grandparents, the crime would be PARRICIDE.

If the killer has no relationship with the child killed as in the case of parricide, the crime would either be HOMICIDE or MURDER depending on the circumstances present.

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