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Commentary: Shifting sands of blame

By PETER ROFF, UPI National Political Analyst

WASHINGTON, March 18 (UPI) -- On Wednesday, a Houston jury voted unanimously to convict Andrea Yates of murder and Monday she was formally sentenced to life in prison.

After less then four hours, the panel of eight women and four men concluded Yates understood what she was doing when she held her five children -- one by one -- under water in the family bathtub until they were dead.

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The enormity of her crime caused a cynical nation to shudder. Though infanticide may now be routine, a multiple murder of children by the mother will still stir the nation.

Part of the callousness comes from what others have called the culture of death. The continued efforts to enforce an abortion-rights ethic on America has, some say, made everyone a little less sensitive to some of life's horrors.

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If Andrea Yates has chosen to abort her children over the seven years in which she bore them rather than dispatch them all in a single afternoon, the nation would never have known and those who did would likely not even bat an eyelash.

It is obvious, based on the public record, that Andrea Yates is a sick woman. This was expressed quite clearly by the jury's decision not to impose the death penalty upon her. But the vast majority of women who are mentally ill or suffering from what medical science calls "postpartum depression" do not murder their children.

We do not know if her emotional state was the product of her environment or if it was organic in origin. The professional victimists and apologizers want us to believe that circumstances made her kill her children.

Psychiatrist Sally Satel, writing in Thursday's Wall Street Journal, said that for some, Yates was "an everymother pushed to the brink by the combined demands of domesticity and child rearing."

The feminist wing of the excuse factory has, tacitly or otherwise, embraced that argument, largely because it suits their political agenda.

This ever-present shrill of harpies constantly disparage traditional American domestic life. They prefer to see it as a way to keep women -- even those in industrialized and prosperous nations -- tethered to the values of the 13th century.

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Unable to escape the fact that Andrea Yates chose to murder her children, they want to deflect attention onto her husband over time.

Should Russell Yates be held responsible for the dysfunction in his home? Certainly; it takes two people to make a marriage what it is or is not. But is he responsible for the murder of his children -- even indirectly? No.

There are those who argue that Russell Yates was too demanding, too controlling, and was therefore the author of his wife's illness. By extension, he is also the instigator of the murder of his own children.

Andrea Yates made bad choices in her life but she is responsible for them. Even if her husband was woefully incompetent in dealing with her issues, something even a perfect spouse would find difficult, he still is not the one who pushed them into the bathtub.

If he is guilty of anything, it is that he did not act aggressively enough to secure the safety of his children. But the blame-shifters who will soon use this case as a wedge to secure more money from the government and change public policy will not have their aims furthered if they make that argument.

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After she was arrested, the Texas chapter of the National Organization for Women announced the formation of an Andrea Yates support group. Deborah Bell, the president, said the purpose was "To be there for her on a personal basis, woman to woman." The coalition would support Russell Yates, she said, as long as he continued to support his wife.

A reasonable person could interpret this as a veiled threat, stick by your wife and we'll leave you alone. Turn on her and we will make you a bigger issue then she is. It is not much of a reach to believe that there are those out there who would rather talk about how Russell Yates treated his wife then what Andrea Yates did to her children.

The result of the trial will be more cries from the harpies for more intervention, more research and, eventually, perhaps, a book that purports to tell the true story of life in the Yates household that will attack the institution of marriage.

The attacks on the environment in the Yates' home will become a part of the plethora of epithets thrown at the traditional family unit and women who think the highest calling in life is to bake chocolate-chip cookies, home school, and sew costumes for their children and their friends -- all things Andrea Yates did.

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As the children fade from memory, Andrea Yates will become the national symbol of postpartum depression and the need to do something about it. Her husband will be vilified in the process.

Anyone who doubts this should read the essay "Barefoot and Pregnant" by the pseudonymous "birdman" on the democraticunderground.com Web site. It is a chilling foreshadowing of what is to come.

"Did it ever occur to this idiot that maybe the pressures converging on his wife were overwhelming her? Did it every occur to him to get some help with the housework or maybe send the kids to school so she wouldn't have the added burden of trying to educate one while changing the others diapers? ... Much of this goes back to the view of men that affects a large portion of the Christian right. Females are there to breed, keep house, and take care of the kids and the breadwinner."

The revision will begin slowly. It will not be as crass as that but it will eventually wind up in the same place intellectually.

It may begin with a controversial, scholarly piece in a medical or legal journal, explaining the injustice of the situation and the need to better understand Andrea Yates' circumstances. This will provoke public comment, media attention and commentary on the issue.

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Then it will become the topic for afternoon chat shows.

"Next up -- Was Andrea Yates really responsible for killing her children? Will look back at the case that shocked the nation."

When the issue is no longer white hot, political figures will pile on.

"Yes, it was horrific," they will say, "but we need to understand her situation. How sick she was. How her husband contributed to the problem."

Soon after that, it will be accepted conventional wisdom that Russell Yates is ultimately to blame for the choice his wife made. By extension, this will apply to all husbands.

Before too long, we will all be asked to believe that the housework made her do it.

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