Editing Infanticide (section)

===Christianity===
Christianity explicitly rejects infanticide. The ''Teachings of the [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles]]'' or ''[[Didache]]'' states "thou shalt not kill a child by [[abortion]], neither shalt thou slay it when born".<ref>{{Cite book | translator =Robinson, Charles| title =The Didache| page =76| publisher =David Nutt| place =Oxford | year =1894 }}</ref> The ''[[Epistle of Barnabas]]'' makes a similar statement.<ref>''[[Epistle of Barnabas]]'', xix.5d.</ref> Early Christian writers such as [[Tertullian]], [[Athenagoras of Athens|Athenagoras]], [[Minucius Felix]], [[Justin Martyr]] and [[Lactantius]] also maintained that exposing a baby to death was a wicked act.<ref name="Justin Martyr"/> In 318, [[Constantine I]] considered infanticide a crime, and in 374, [[Valentinian I]] mandated the rearing of all children (exposing babies, especially girls, was still common). The [[Council of Constantinople (1094)|Council of Constantinople]] declared that infanticide was homicide, and in 589, the [[Third Council of Toledo]] took measures against the custom of killing their own children.<ref name="SXR"/> Christianity thus played a leading role in the abolition of infanticide in the Roman Empire.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gosbell |first1=Louise |title=What we can learn from Christianity's resistance to infanticide and exposure in antiquity |url=https://www.abc.net.au/religion/early-christianitys-resistance-to-infanticide-and-exposure/10898016 |website=ABC Religion & Ethics |access-date=13 December 2024 |language=en-AU |date=13 March 2019}}</ref>