Abstract
The Infanticide Act 1938 was one of two pieces of interwar legislation that established, and refined, the offence of infanticide within the criminal law in England and Wales. Under the Act, where a woman was found to have been responsible for the death of her child of less than 1 year of age, but at the time of the act the ‘balance of her mind was disturbed by reason of her not having fully recovered from the effect of giving birth to the child or by reason of the effect of lactation’, she could be found guilty of infanticide rather than capital murder, and be treated and punished as though she had been guilty of the lesser crime of manslaughter.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Women’s Legal Landmarks in the Interwar Years |
| Subtitle of host publication | Not for Want of Trying |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
| Chapter | 33 |
| Pages | 267-275 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Edition | 1 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781509969746 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781509969722 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2024 |
