Clancy mistrial reveals how much America devalues life

The heartbreaking trial of Lindsay Clancy, which sparked debates about women's health and the judicial system, has ended in a mistrial, starting what will likely be a running conversation about what happens next. Before that, it's worth taking a look at how we got here. Clancy, a mother of three, strangled her three children while dealing with postpartum depression. She pleaded not guilty as her defense claimed that a postpartum psychosis event meant she was not criminally responsible. The entire story is heartbreaking, but unfortunately, not everyone seems to be sad for the right reasons. Social media has been flooded with posts from supporters of Clancy's, who either claim she needed help, that this is somehow her now ex-husband's fault or merely the crowds of supporters cheering for her as she arrives at the courthouse. Pink wave of supporters rally behind Lindsay Clancy Supporters wearing pink gather outside Plymouth Superior Court during the trial of Lindsay Clancy, 36, who is charged in the January 2023 deaths of her three children in Duxbury, Massachusetts. While Clancy admits to killing the children, her defense argues she was experiencing a psychotic episode tied to postpartum mental illness and should not be held criminally responsible.Organizer Renee Kimball, center, of Maine, stands with Clancy supporters for a moment of silence outside court on Aug. 20, 2026. This type of rhetoric wasn't unforeseeable. America has been succumbing to a culture devaluing life for quite some time, and the fact that the lives lost in this tragedy often amount to a footnote in discussions is just more evidence of that fact. Another view: Clancy mistrial distracts from moms who actually deserve empathy | Opinion Lindsay Clancy's supporters diminish the children's lives that were lost There is merit in the idea that these horrific cases ought to trigger a review of how medical providers treat postpartum depression. If the dialogue surrounding this case were limited to that focus on how we prevent future cases, I think it would be a productive conversation. "I could have been Lindsay. Anyone of us could have been," nurse Susan Davison wrote in a letter unsealed in court. Many more women have expressed that the system failed Clancy, or that they merely want to raise awareness of postpartum depression. These supporters are much less callous and should be heard. However, the reflexive outpouring of support and concern for Clancy, compared with that for her children, goes further and is alarming. Her children have become an afterthought for many. Lindsay Clancy case ends in mistrial. Photos show trial's emotional moments Lindsay Clancy and attorney Kevin Reddington look at jurors as Judge William Sullivan instructs them to continue deliberations in Clancy's murder trial on Sept. 4, 2026. The case against Clancy is rather simple. Regardless of her state of mind, she concocted a plan to get her husband out of the house, ensured he would be gone long enough that she could carry out the killings and then end her own life, and then carried out that plan. She murdered her three young children as a precursor to attempting to take her own life. The reasons she did it don't really change the practical result to me. She should spend the rest of her life in jail or a psychiatric institution. Lindsay Clancy killed her kids. Why are women defending her? | Opinion Why has America's respect for life eroded so much? America didn't suddenly lose its respect for life; it was eroded over time. Chiefly, the pro-abortion movement has increasingly pushed dehumanizing rhetoric about the unborn for decades, with a more aggressive push since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. Since that decision, a contingent of abortion supporters became increasingly callous in their rhetoric. Some demonstrators even went so far as to take abortion pills on the Supreme Court steps in protest of the then-likely ruling. The extremity of these positions has even corrupted the liberal mainstream on abortion. Bill Clinton's famous slogan that abortion should be "safe, legal, and rare" is now conspicuously missing the "rare." Activists were trying to get that part of the slogan dropped long before the Dobbs decision came down because rare implies there is a reason why abortion ought not be a standard response to pregnancy, that being the competing interest of the life of the child. The ShoutYourAbortion movement has done something similar. Started in 2015, this movement has sought to flood popular debate with stories about abortion without "sadness, shame or regret," making the process more socially acceptable far beyond merely legal, and borderline something to celebrate. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. The pro-abortion movement has done immense harm to America's respect for human life, and I suspect it is the chief culprit that has influenced many of the most deranged Clancy supporters. However, there are other signifiers of this problem. Our problem with political violence is another symptom of the same erosion. Assassinations of political activists and health care CEOs are now met with ghoulish cheers from radicals who do not hold the value of life above their own disagreements with a person. Other movements include the rise of pro-euthanasia policies. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized euthanasia for terminal patients. Six in 10 Americans don't have a moral objection to medical assistance in dying. The deterioration of the value of life is a multifaceted problem, and a major reason the reactions to the Clancy tragedy are so saddening. Arguments about how we need to rethink how we treat maternal mental health are valuable, but can be made without ignoring the obvious loss of life in this case. Dace Potas, a law student, is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY. Follow him on X: @DacePotas You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Clancy mistrial reveals how much America devalues life | Opinion