R v Dickason: New Zealand's Infanticide Law

This article considers the example of R v Dickason to investigate New Zealand's infanticide regime under s 178 of the Crimes Act 1961. It argues that the legal interpretation of infanticide is increasingly out of step with contemporary scientific understandings of postpartum mental illness, in particular postpartum depression (PPD). Drawing on recent scientific research, the article highlights the multifactorial and epigenetic nature of PPD, challenging the binary legal framework that pits biological causes against psychosocial stressors. It critiques both narrow prosecutorial interpretations of infanticide as a bio-psychiatric defence and feminist legal scholarship that denies biological causation altogether. The article also exposes the reliance on outdated scientific literature within legal discourse, revealing an ouroboric discourse that perpetuates misconceptions about maternal mental health. In response, the article proposes a legislative amendment to s 178 that is better able to accommodate the complex interplay of the biological, psychological and environmental factors contributing to infanticide.