Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929

Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929
Act of Parliament
Long titleAn Act to amend the law with regard to the destruction of children at or before birth.
Citation19 & 20 Geo. 5. c. 34
Territorial extent England and Wales
Dates
Royal assent10 May 1929
Commencement10 May 1929
Other legislation
AmendsOffences against the Person Act 1861
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. 5. c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the offence of child destruction. 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 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.