The Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 is an Act of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It created the offence of

child destruction Child destruction is the name of a statutory offence in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Hong Kong. The offence of that name has been abolished and replaced in Victoria, Australia. Child destruction is the crime of killing an unborn but v ...

. The Act retains three sections, the most substantive legal changes of which are in the first section. The Bill preceding it was introduced as the Child Destruction Bill. It was reintroduced in the next session as the Preservation of Infant Life Bill. Section 1(1)'s caveat of the Act amended s.58 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 so that abortions and child destruction carried out in good faith for the sole purpose of preserving the life of the mother were no longer an offence.

Relationship with the Abortion Act 1967

The

Abortion Act 1967 The Abortion Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom legalising abortions on certain grounds by registered practitioners, and regulating the tax-paid provision of such medical practices through the National Health Service (NHS ...

makes foetal abortion legal in specific circumstances when conducted in accordance with the regulations of the act.Smith and Hogan, 12th edition, p.568 The 1967 Act—as for added clarity amended by s37 of the

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It created the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority which is in charge of human embryo research, along with monitoring and licensing fertil ...

—explicitly notes that abortions performed under the terms of the 1967 Act are not offences under the 1929 Act. :No offence under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 shall be committed by a registered medical practitioner who terminates a pregnancy in accordance with the provisions of this Act he Abortion Acts37 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990
legislation.gov.uk

References

External links

Parliamentary debates

*http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1928/nov/14/preservation-of-infant-life-bill-hl *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1928/nov/22/preservation-of-infant-life-bill-hl *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1928/dec/06/preservation-of-infant-life-bill-hl *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1928/dec/18/preservation-of-infant-life-bill-hl *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1929/jan/28/preservation-of-infant-life-bill-lords *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1929/mar/25/preservation-of-infant-life-bill-lords *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1929/apr/18/standing-committee-a *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1929/apr/23/chairmens-panel *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1929/apr/23/standing-committee-a *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1929/apr/24/standing-committee-a *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1929/apr/25/preservation-of-infant-life-bill-lords *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1929/apr/25/infant-life-preservation-bill-lords *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1929/may/02/infant-life-preservation-bill-lords *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1929/may/07/preservation-of-infant-life-bill-hl *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1929/may/08/preservation-of-infant-life-bill-hl *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1929/may/09/message-from-the-lords *http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1929/may/10/royal-assent Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning England and Wales English criminal law United Kingdom abortion law United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1929 {{abortion-stub