ABSTRACT
The position of the fetus has been deliberately isolated for special consideration, firstly, in the general sense that the condemned man is a principal in a hanging and deserves individual attention but, also, because the status of the fetus is being greatly changed by developments in medical expertise. This chapter concerns the acquisition of a legal personality and, although the position has been modified, often with confusing implications, it starts from the premise that, fundamentally, the common law sees no personality in the unborn fetus: any personal rights as do exist can mature only at birth. It discusses the effect of the Abortion Act 1967 on the protection afforded the fetus by the Offences Against the Person Act, 1861. In practice, this is a poor protection as it is difficult to prove, first, intent and, second, that a dead fetus of less than 28 weeks' gestation above which point a presumption is imposed was capable of being born alive.
