Concealment of birth is a criminal offence that criminalises the concealment of the dead body of a baby to conceal the birth of that child. It is an offence under section 60 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
In this briefing I outline the latest criminal statistics of the offence, the nature of cases, and why the offence should be removed from the statute book, including what other crimes exist to capture the wrongdoing of concealing a dead body.
I this video I look at how the crime of procuring a miscarriage (an offence under section 58 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861) is being used today. In previous videos I have talked about the history of the law and the reasons why a woman ends her pregnancy illegally. What is clear from looking at recent cases is that these factors are rarely taken into account when procuring a miscarriage is charged and then a woman is convicted of the crime and sentenced. Instead, the offence is being understood as a crime against the foetus. Not only is this interpretation of the law contrary to parliament’s intention, but it also has worrying implications for women and their unborn children.
The offence of ‘procuring a miscarriage’ (section 58 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861) criminalises the ending of a pregnancy at any point in gestation. The imprisonment of a woman for this crime in June 2023 has sparked a public debate about the role of the criminal law in the regulation of abortion. For us to have an informed discussion about the offences of procuring a miscarriage we need to understand the history of the law and why the crime was created by Parliament. In this video I discuss the background to the law, and the reasons Parliament wanted to criminalise abortion back in the 1860s.
To understand more about why abortion is illegal in England and Wales, take a look at this video.
On the 12 June 2023, a woman was imprisoned for 28 months for taking abortion pills at 32-34 weeks of pregnancy. Many people were shocked by the outcome of this case. In this video, I discuss the situations that lead a woman to take steps to end her pregnancy late in gestation.
Watch this video to find out why abortion is illegal in England and Wales.
This video explains how the Abortion Act 1967 allows abortion to be legal.
I am delighted to be joined by Mara to talk about ‘obstetric violence’. This is such an important topic, highlighting the violence and abuse women experience in relation to pregnancy, labour and delivery.
Mara defines obstetric violence as:
‘a form of misogynist violence and oppression that controls, takes away or submits the women’s autonomy in the decision making over their reproductive system. And from which a hierarchical power is built in which any abuse, mistreatment or humiliation is justified, protected and promoted by an anti-woman and anti-mother patriarchal ideology.’
Mara (Jesusa) Ricoy Olariaga also known as Matriactivista is a birth educator, activist, radical feminist, poet, writer and medical interpreter. She funded the global movement The Roses Revolution and has published 3 books in Spanish about feminism, birth and its representation in media and movies. She is also a mother of three children. Find Mara on social media: matriactivista.
If you have been effected by any of the issues raised in this video, find further information and support here.
In this video I outline why medicine and big swaths of society believe that the foetus is more important than the woman who is pregnant. Why did we stop seeing pregnant women as the focus of pregnancy? Why are women now often characterised as a “foetal container”? And what impact did medical developments in obstetric care have on this shift? Watch to find out.
Early in January 2023, Julie Bindle and I met online to record an interview about my research for Julie’s substack site. During the interview we talked about the fact that abortion is still illegal in Britain, that vulnerable women are criminalisation for ending their own pregnancies, crisis pregnancies, the Infanticide Act, and what can be done to stop this injustice for women.
I’ve been a huge admirer of Julies for a long time, so it was an absolute honour to speak with her about these important issues. Her work fighting for women’s rights is commendable.
The interview was turned into a podcast that can be listened to here or on your podcast provider of choice.
In this video I outline the “foetus-first mentality”: the prioritisation of foetuses over women. Many agree that an unborn child is important. But, as I explain, when a foetus is considered more important than the pregnant woman, this becomes very troublesome and dangerous for women.
In recent videos I have talked a lot about ‘crisis’ pregnancies. In this video I explore the idea of a ‘crisis’ pregnancy in more detail. I consider what a ‘crisis’ pregnancy is, why women experience them, and the impact for women who experience them.
In February 2022, Gender and Law at Durham (GLAD) and the Centre for Criminal Law and Criminal Justice (CCLCJ) hosted the launch of Dr Emma Milne’s (Durham Law School) book Criminal Justice Responses to Maternal Filicide: Judging the Failed Mother.
Dr Milne presented the key findings from the book, outlining the implications for criminal law, criminal justice, and academic research in the areas of infanticide and women’s offending. A short commentary on the book was delivered by:
Analysis of criminal cases reveals that women suspected of killing their newborn children are some of the most vulnerable in our society and that infanticide is not just a historical issue but one that has modern implications. While women are less likely to commit violent crime, maternal infant homicide is an enduring form of offending that needs to be understood in a wider social context.
In Criminal Justice Responses to Maternal Filicide, Milne provides a comprehensive analysis of conviction outcomes through court transcripts of 15 criminal cases in England and Wales during 2010 to 2019. Drawing on feminist theories of responsibilisation and ‘gendered harm’, she critically reflects on the gendered nature of criminal justice’s responses to suspected infanticide.
This contemporary study makes a novel contribution to the fields of law, criminology and gender studies, arguing that through its inability to recognise the vulnerable position of accused women, and respond accordingly, the application of law reflects wider social judgments of pregnant women and mothers who challenge or fail to fulfil ideals of motherhood.
Dr Emma Milne 