Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial concluded earlier last month, and the results of the case have gone viral, sparking debate about justice within mental illness cases and awareness for the effects of being postpartum. Her case, in which she was charged with the murder of her three young children, concluded in a mistrial. Only one of the jurors opposed the verdict of not guilty by insanity due to her diagnosis of postpartum psychosis. Instead of having conversations about the effects of postpartum mental health, many mothers have taken their sympathy for her situation to the extreme.
The Online Debate
Many angry mothers who feel wronged by motherhood are taking to Instagram and Facebook and posting about how they sympathize with Clancy. A disturbing trend of women have posted videos of themselves holding or rocking their children with the caption “Me too, Lindsay” or “Same, Lindsay”. While some of these videos were probably created with the intention of raising awareness for maternal well-being, it seems that many of these mothers are admitting that they have had thoughts of murdering their children and that they believe Clancy was justified in her act. More than 1.2M has been raised for the “Musgrove Family Fund” on GoFundMe, which is a fund for Clancy’s parents to support her in her trial.
The empathy and support that many people demonstrate for Clancy is disturbing and misguided. It stems from the anger that many women feel about the lack of maternal support in America and the desire to rectify this issue, but it ends up having the opposite effect. Their reaction feeds more content that right-wing creators can point to and say “look how crazy and disturbing liberal white women are.” Depicting Lindsay Clancy as a martyr for the cause of maternal healthcare is a mistake that will only set women back further.
The debate also lacks a lot of complexity; as with most things on the internet, extremists get the most attention, so black-and-white thinking and sensationalism is encouraged. Many people seem to either support Clancy and argue that she was in no way at fault for this crime, or they think Clancy is a monster and refuse to have a discussion about the importance of recognizing the warning signs of mental illness and supporting mothers.
Finding Some Middle Ground
Unlike what the internet encourages, it is helpful to have complex opinions about this case. I believe that Clancy should be found guilty due to the slim interpretation of the term “not guilty by insanity” and the indication that she had an understanding that her actions were wrong and illegal despite her hallucinations from her psychosis. The fact that she sent her husband on an errand while she committed the murder, creating secrecy and privacy, reveals that she understood the gravity of her actions.
However, this belief does not negate the ability to sympathize with her situation and have conversations about how to prevent similar situations in the future. Lindsay Clancy was reportedly suffering from “intrusive thoughts, dark thoughts, homicidal and suicidal ideation”; she called the suicide hotline twice; she checked herself into a psychiatric hospital less than a month before the murders; she was overmedicated and reported having adverse reactions to the medications, including severe insomnia and brain fog in the weeks leading up to the act. She was showing dangerous warning signs that were not being heeded by her psychiatrist or her family.
But Clancy’s case does not stand alone. As many as 1 in 5 women in the US have mental health issues during pregnancy and postpartum, usually including anxiety and depression. They are the leading underlying cause of death for pregnant women in the US. Postpartum psychosis in particular is incredibly dangerous; if left untreated, it has a 4% infanticide rate and a 5% suicide rate. Symptoms include hallucinations (auditory, visual, and/or touch-based), delusions (false beliefs that you hold on to very strongly), mania and/or hypomania, depersonalization, insomnia, irritability, and thoughts of self-harm.
It certainly doesn’t help that there is no federally required paid maternity leave in the US (only 12 weeks unpaid maternity leave that most women do not fully use due to financial concerns). Women face significant pressure to return to feeling normal and to take care of an infant by themselves, before returning to work very soon after giving birth. It’s not surprising that so many women experience mental health crises during the pregnancy/postpartum period and are completely fed up with the system and its expectations.
Lindsay Clancy should be held responsible for what she did, which is that she killed her three children knowingly. At the same time, we should look for these warning signs and allow postpartum women to have the time off and support that they need.