(1)Subject to the provisions of the Termination of Pregnancy Act 1974, whoever, with intent to destroy the life of a child capable of being born alive, by any intentional act causes a child to die before it has an existence independent of its mother or by such act causes the child to die after its birth, shall, unless such act is immediately necessary to save the life of the mother, be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or with fine, or with both.
Section history
Section 315 — Child destruction before, at or immediately after birth
As in force on 31 December 2021.
The text below is this provision as reproduced in the Revised Edition that came into force on this date. A revised edition consolidates the law without changing its substance, so editorial amendments — such as renumbering, updated citations and formatting — may have been made but are not shown as a redline.
(2)For the purposes of this section, evidence that a woman had at any material time been pregnant for a period of 28 weeks or more shall be prima facie evidence that she was at that time pregnant of a child capable of being born alive.