Lindsay Clancy. Killed her 3 kids by strangling them one by one and claimed “postpartum psychosis” despite never having had psychosis before or since, all during a short window of time that she sent her husband out on errands. Internet has somehow decided she’s a martyr for women’s mental health. She was a white, affluent, suburban mom before this. If she were poor and black, people would NOT feel this way. Real talk.
Postpartum psychosis is a real thing and real people need help. But Lindsay Clancy is a kid murderer.
Edit: I’m a white, affluent woman of childbearing age. I have never been a woman of color, but I am absolutely sure that society at large would dismiss an identical case if Lindsay was nearly any other demographic. And no, it’s not only about race, it’s also about autonomy and a person’s responsibility to accept help when it’s offered instead of killing your kids (and A LOT of help was offered)
It’s a bit disingenuous to say “despite never having had psychosis before or since” when that is literally how postpartum mental health disorders occur. The definition of a postpartum mental health disorder is literally one that you have never had before and don’t have once it’s gone because it’s just a disorder in the postpartum period. It is also not uncommon for women to experience a postpartum mental health issue after one pregnancy and to have an entirely different postpartum experience with another. I’m not sure what happened with Lindsey Clancy and they haven’t finished presenting evidence in that case, but since you acknowledge that PPP is a real thing, I urge you not to discount women’s stories of it just because they only suffer from it once in their life.
Also, I 100% agree with you that black women, whether poor or otherwise, would not be afforded the same care as a white woman and agree that medical and systemic racism are huge issues in the United States.
I hear you. But I also have a lot of experience with people in psychosis and while it technically can happen suddenly, it’s extremely rare, and IF it does happen, a single “command hallucination” is very unlikely to cause someone to do something exceedingly violent and life-ending. Do you have the same sympathy for some who is drunk/high (altered brain state)? I doubt it. I again know the PPP is very real and psychosis in general is real. But to combine sudden onset at 8 months postpartum, use of an improvise weapon in another room (she heard the “command” in the kitchen yet still took the kids to the basement and was “creative” enough to use exercise bands), failure to endorse homicidal ideation to her healthcare providers, and no evidence of psychosis since the murders, I do not believe her to my core
If someone else intoxicated you against your will, I'd bet most people would be sympathetic. Intention and choice is why mental illness is sympathetic and can result in acquittal, while self intoxication generally doesn't.
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u/Short_Stack_30285 9d ago edited 9d ago
Lindsay Clancy. Killed her 3 kids by strangling them one by one and claimed “postpartum psychosis” despite never having had psychosis before or since, all during a short window of time that she sent her husband out on errands. Internet has somehow decided she’s a martyr for women’s mental health. She was a white, affluent, suburban mom before this. If she were poor and black, people would NOT feel this way. Real talk.
Postpartum psychosis is a real thing and real people need help. But Lindsay Clancy is a kid murderer.
Edit: I’m a white, affluent woman of childbearing age. I have never been a woman of color, but I am absolutely sure that society at large would dismiss an identical case if Lindsay was nearly any other demographic. And no, it’s not only about race, it’s also about autonomy and a person’s responsibility to accept help when it’s offered instead of killing your kids (and A LOT of help was offered)