Mother with cancer kills her own child after learning she only has six months to live.?

Question

I'm stunned by this - wouldn't you want to ensure your child was protected and safe, and do everything you could to make your death 'easy' and understandable for them, rather than killing yourself and taking your child with you?

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=79407&in_page_id=34

I can understand her worrying about the future of the child, but wouldn't you want to ensure a future and not end that possibility? I couldn't bear the idea of anything happening to my baby and if I knew I was going to die leaving her would be the hardest part of it. It would be dreadful to miss seeing her grow up, but I would want her to have the chance to!!

Answer 1

I think its really hard to comment here
She was dying and was obviously very traumatised by this
I can only imagine she felt she couldn't live without her son

I don't think we have any right to judge
I cant imagine ever being without my son but im not, or wasn't in her situation so I can only say what i think was going through her mind

Answer 2

This is a dreadful case and so unnecessary really. Although the woman was separated from the child's father, it seems he took an interest and loved the child. His is distraught and so are the grandparents. There is no way that the little boy would not have been cared for.
Despite the fact that she loved the child so much, after he died she left him on this own and went to her parents' home and cut her wrists. It seems that she wanted everyone to suffer more than anything. I do feel sorry for her and suspect that she was out of her mind, but I still think she did a terrible thing.

Answer 3

Unless you have been in that situation then you can 't comment on it. I have been there and been on the receiving end of it. It takes a lot of years to understand why somebody would do that to their child. There are many factors of why loving, caring mothers & fathers do this once you look at the bigger picture. My sisters & I were lucky and found on time. I hated my mum for a while as a child but as I grew I realised why she had done it and it had been out of love and not wanting to leave us behind. Some may see this as a selfish act but I see it as the last grip of desperation. Not wanting to leave your child behind and being parted from your child.

It's sad that that little lad won't grow & experience the world but if you believe in any sort of after life, may that be heaven or the spirit plane then they will be together again.

Answer 4

I work in a hospital, where people are told daily that they have cancer and only a few months to live. Some take the news right on the chin, they go home to put their affairs in order and prepare for the end.
Others are devastated by it, they fall apart and suddenly life to them, has NO meaning, no meaning at all. All of lifes joys and hopes are dashed as the end becomes a reality.
I have known patients newly diagnosed with cancer, go out and commit suicide, rather than let a disease kill them.
What this mother has done, is a direct result of her grief, a result of her life imploding and falling into meaningless dust.
Reality no longer has any meaning. It's a tradgedy.

Answer 5

That's tragic. I can only think that she was so depressed that she wasn't thinking straight (well obviously she wasn't) - what a shame she didn't have better support.
I have a friend who recently died of cancer, leaving her three small children and it was heartbreaking,. Her children have a wonderful father who nursed his wife and looked after the children - these kids (aged 5, 7 and 9) have so much love and support around them from the village community where we live and from extended family. They are very lucky to have this support and have coped brilliantly.
What this woman did, killing her son was terrible - what a tragic waste of a life. I do think that because we don't know her mental state, we shouldn't be so quick to judge. We can't compare this to any other child murder.

Answer 6

I understand her completely.
I dont agree with what she did, but I understand. How very very sad.
Perhaps she should have had counselling on receiving the awful news of her condition.
If she didnt receive counselling, then perhaps this should happen when news like this is given in the future. Did she have enough support from all the family, where was the husband? so many questions. Terrible waste of life.

Answer 7

this breaks my heart. Some people are so scared of what will happen to their child once they are gone. I've thought about it, and I don't want my child's father raising her if something happens to me. But there's nothing I can do about it if it happens. Maybe she didn't have any decent family, or maybe he would have gone to bad people - maybe the father is an abuser - oh, who knows, this story just breaks my heart that for some reason she must have felt he would be better off with her.. You know, alot of people with cancer are in so much pain that it makes them crazy. I don't know what to really say about this except it's sad.

Answer 8

Some people become so depressed that they think they are doing the child a favour be removing them from such a terrible world, especially without a mother to protect them
it,s sad

Answer 9

Its sad .. really sad.
but if we try to think why she would have done it
a) as most ppl agree - "she loved him so much she wanted to b with him after his death too"
b) She dint want him to be a burden on anyone .. in some cases people are very self respecting n stuff, she may have known personally that no one else would love her son like she did. coz im sure she mustve had some ... reason to do such a thing. Afterall she was his MOM!

but still its not reason enough to do so.. it must have been HORRIBLE for HER.. imagine what she had been going through!
she ought to have probably talked to someone in the family abt his future guardians etc...
Gosh thats sad..
May them both rest in peace and find each other.

and please lets not curse her after her death..saying what she did was horrible.
But hopefully no one should ever come to this.
Kids are a joy and are welcome by all!

P.S: And its so easy for me/us here to sit and pass judgements at this.. :( Respects and
May God bless the rest of the family too.

Answer 10

That is just horrible!! And who are the loonies giving thumbs down for anyone saying so!!! And you wonder why the world is the way it is??
There are obviously a lot of mentally unstable people on this planet!!!!!
Here in the states, a guy killed his 7month old then himself....No SANE person will ever understand that!!!!

Answer 11

It's absolutely ghastly. It does seem supremely selfish - though I accept that she is likely to have been under extraordinary strain which certainly can disrupt a person's ability to reason. But still...

Mrs George Clooney, I must protest. There was no question of her having to live without him. SHE was dying anyway. Her son had a life to live albeit one marred by the early loss of his mother. He also had a father who appeared to be involved enough to have Christmas presents for the boy. We obviously don't know every detail about this family but it's hard to imagine that she could seriously have thought his life would not be worth living.