Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929
The Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. 5. c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It created the offence of child destruction. The Act retains three sections, the most substantive legal changes of which are in the first section.
Long title
An Act to amend the law with regard to the destruction of children at or before birth.
19 & 20 Geo. 5. c. 34
10 May 1929
10 May 1929[3]
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.[4]
Section 1(1)'s caveat of the Act amended section 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.
