Prolicide is the act of killing offspring, either before or soon after birth. It is meant to include both infanticide (intentionally causing the death of an infant), and abortion (the killing of a fetus). The word prolicide derives from the Latin words proles meaning "offspring" and caedere meaning "to cut or kill". Infanticide is the practice of intentionally causing the death of an infant. ... Fetus at eight weeks A fetus (alternatively foetus or fœtus) is an embryo in later stages of development, from the third month of pregnancy until birth in humans. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

Related terms

Compare with filicide (the killing of one's own son or daughter) and child murder (the killing of an unrelated child). Filicide is the act of a parent killing his or her own son or daughter. ... Note: for practices of systematically killing very young children, see murder of children is considered a particularly abhorrent crime in most societies; their physical and emotional vulnerability requires that people in general are strongly protective of them. ...

See also

-cide The English suffix -cide denotes an act related to killing or death. ...

References

• Oxford University Press (2005). Oxford English Dictionary Online, 2nd Edition 1989: "prolicide" (http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50189769). Retrieved March 28, 2005. (Subscription required.)