Infanticide and abortion in nineteenth-century Britain

Abstract

Two of the oldest and most wide-ranging forms of population control are infanticide and abortion. Although both were condemned by Christianity almost from its origin, both seem to be a part of the history of most, if not all, Christian nations. How great a part they played, however, has never been determined with any degree of precision in any nation before the present century. To help shed some light on the matter, this paper will examine the role of infanticide and abortion in one Christian nation, Great Britain, during the nineteenth century. More specifically, the extent of infanticide and abortion, ¹ by whom they were practised, whether there were any trends in their use, and how they were perceived by public opinion and law in nineteenth-century Britain will be examined.

Infanticide is defined as the deliberate killing of an infant by violence or wilful neglect. Some nineteenth-century writers included under infanticide death brought about by ignorance or unwilful negligence, but such deaths will not be considered infanticide in this paper. The type of abortion referred to in this paper is induced abortion, the deliberate expulsion of the embryo or foetus, by use of drugs or mechanical means, before it can survive independently of its mother, in an effort to avoid bearing an unwanted child.

Infanticide is defined as the deliberate killing of an infant by violence or wilful neglect. Some nineteenth-century writers included under infanticide death brought about by ignorance or unwilful negligence, but such deaths will not be considered infanticide in this paper. The type of abortion referred to in this paper is induced abortion, the deliberate expulsion of the embryo or foetus, by use of drugs or mechanical means, before it can survive independently of its mother, in an effort to avoid bearing an unwanted child.

Notes

Infanticide is defined as the deliberate killing of an infant by violence or wilful neglect. Some nineteenth-century writers included under infanticide death brought about by ignorance or unwilful negligence, but such deaths will not be considered infanticide in this paper. The type of abortion referred to in this paper is induced abortion, the deliberate expulsion of the embryo or foetus, by use of drugs or mechanical means, before it can survive independently of its mother, in an effort to avoid bearing an unwanted child.