NOW Names Andrea Yates "Mother of the Year"
by Joseph C. Hinson
January 10, 2002

In a move that stunned a nation, the National Organization for Women has named Houston child murderer Andrea Yates Mother of the Year. Yates beat out notables such as Marilyn Walker, mother of the American Taliban, John Walker and joins past winners Susan Smith, Patsy Ramsey and Yoko Ono.

The president of the Texas chapter of NOW, Deborah Bell, said that Yates won in a landslide. "Yates has gone above and beyond the call of duty. After years of putting the what was best for her children ahead of what she wanted, she finally drowned everything that was holding her back. Now she's happy and leading an active life in jail. Marilyn Walker, on the other hand, raised a boy who studied religion and searched for God in hip hop and fundamentalist Islam."

Bell says that the group is forming the Andrea Pia Yates Support Coalition. "To be there for her on a personal basis, woman to woman, that's the basis of feminism right there," Bell said. "You've got to care about all women, regardless of how many of their own children they kill. Likewise, you've also got to support women who kill other people's kids. We don't discriminate here. We treat all baby killers with the same amount of love, compassion and aldultation."

The coalition is encouraging people to donate to Yates's legal defense fund — much as Katie Couric did on "The Today Show" earlier this month. After the airing of a sympathetic taped interview by reporter Jim Cummins with Yates's mother and brother, Couric told viewers where they could send donations to Yates's legal-defense fund, with the address displayed on television screens across the nation. Couric told viewers that any money left over would be given to women's charities dealing with postpartum depression and psychosis.

Bell can't recall when NOW has taken a murder defendant under its wing, but she contends that Yates' case isn't just about money. "We want her to have a good defense and because we would like to see some funds raised for treatment and research and education," Bell said. "We'd also like season tickets to the Houston Comets. Those girls can play some ball!"

Yates' mother is happy that NOW has decided to help her daughter. "I think it's wonderful," she said. "Anytime somebody does something for Andrea, it makes me feel better. I really need her. She was the one to take care of my husband and me, and now I'm there for her. And now she would have so much time for us. It's really a shame that she should be held accountable for something that her husband drove her to do with his sperm.

A supporter who asked not to be named in fear that her husband would sue for sole custody of their seven children said, "Year after year for almost a decade, she had been forced to endure the burden of being supported by a man. It is so heart-wrenching that clearly she's entitled to treatment and not punishment. The right-wing biased media have been pursuing a very disturbing line of questioning, such as whether this beautiful, fascinating, delicate flower Andrea Yates 'murdered' her so-called 'children.' It is precisely this mindset that keeps us in bondage."

She added, "At some point we call on all women to do as Pat Robertson says, murder their children, become lesbians and convert to the Wiccan lifestyle."

Relevant Sources:
Tragedy Focuses Attention on Postpartum Psychosis: Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy
NOW Sets Up Fund For Houston Mom
Stop persecuting Andrea Yates! (Ann Coulter)
Why juries often spare mothers who kill
True Crimes: Andrea Yates
Russell Yates: What Was He Thinking?
The Newest Feminist Icon--A Killer Mom
Quick test can identify depression in new moms
Where Is The Soul?

In all fairness to NOW, what follows is the statement released by NOW President Kim Gandy:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: REBECCA FARMER, 202-628-8669 ext. 116

Tragedy Focuses Attention on Postpartum Psychosis

Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy

September 6, 2001

The National Organization for Women is speaking out on the Andrea Yates case to call attention to the need for better response by the medical community, law enforcement and the judiciary to the problem of postpartum depression and psychosis. Everyone who has read of this case is disturbed by Yates' actions and deeply saddened by the death of her children. As a mother, my heart goes out to this family and to the community that has suffered such a great loss. We hope that a broader discussion about the mental health issues involved may prevent a similar tragedy in the future, and may increase the help available to other families coping with such a crisis before it turns deadly.

If we, as a society, allow Yates' case to be treated as a freak crime, stand by while the state of Texas executes her, and then move on to the next sensationalized story, we will have failed in our responsibility to address the larger issues. The overheated dialogue and the repeated characterization of Andrea Yates as "a monster" and "evil" interfere with the kind of clearheaded dialogue we must have in order to prevent the infliction of such misery on another family.

The media's oversimplification of this case, and in some cases their misrepresentation of NOW's role, are both deplorable and dangerous. NOW has not created a legal defense fund for Andrea Yates. NOW is not raising money for her. The Houston Area NOW chapter leaders have directed concerned people to a fund already set up by Yates' lawyers. Like any other criminal defendant, Yates is entitled to a fair trial with appropriate legal representation. Just as Andrea Yates' crime shocked the nation, Texas' desire to put to death a person who may be mentally ill should shock the nation's conscience.

We are asking questions that need to be asked: Why was Andrea Yates released from the hospital in a severely depressed state? Was it because her health insurance did not provide coverage adequate to her needs? Why wasn't she given any help with 5 children after being released in this condition? Did her health care providers sufficiently inform her and/or her family about her condition and the attendant risks? Was she receiving appropriate treatment, and if not why not? And most importantly, why aren't the Texas authorities asking these questions?

Postpartum psychosis occurs in connection with approximately 1 out of 1,000 births. Those women and their families should benefit from increased awareness of this illness. I have two little girls, and I was never once counseled by my midwife or obstetrician to watch for the well-established warning signs. This must never happen to another new mother. NOW is urging the National Institutes of Health to increase research into postpartum depression and psychosis. And we're asking the greater medical community to provide women with the information and care we need and deserve.

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