BOSTON — Legislation to ensure postpartum defendants charged with criminal offenses are screened for — and, if necessary, committed for treatment for — postpartum depression and psychosis “is not a free pass” but rather an injection of humanity into the criminal justice system, the head of the Center for Women’s Mental Health at Massachusetts General Hospital said Thursday.

The Judiciary Committee is weighing a bill from Rep. James O’Day, D-West Boyleston, and Sen. Joan Lovely, Salem, that calls for defendants charged with criminal offenses within 12 months of giving birth to be screened for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, including postpartum psychosis and postpartum depression, and to be committed if necessary for treatment. It could provide a path for new mothers who seriously ha

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