Infanticide Act (Sweden)

The Infanticide Act (Swedish: Barnamordsplakatet), often referred to as "Infanticide act of Gustav III" (Gustav III:s barnamordsplakat) after its instigator Gustav III of Sweden, was a historical Swedish law, which was introduced in 1778 and in effect until 1917, with alterations in 1856.

The law was introduced in order to prevent infanticides, the killings of newborn children outside of marriage, and granted mothers both the right and the means for an anonymous birth. Its 1856 amendment however restricted this to a mere confidential birth, where the midwife was ordered to keep the mother's name in a sealed envelope to allow the grown-up child to request undisclosure of its biological ancestry.

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