Episode 9: That Crime Of The Month

Aug 29, 2014

What does it mean when a woman commits a crime and attributes her

actions to PMS? We revisit the first use of the "PMS defense," in this

country, back in 1981. What have we learned about the science of PMS

since then? Last year, the American Psychiatric Association classified

a form of PMS (Premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD) as a mental

disorder in the DSM-V. How can the scientific community study severe

premenstrual symptoms without perpetuating the utterly unscientific

idea that menstruating women aren’t mentally competent or liable for

crimes they commit?

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