What are the sections 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 and the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929?
Asked by: Dr. Dwight Ryan II | Last update: April 22, 2026Score: 4.1/5 (60 votes)
Sections 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 (OAPA) criminalize procuring abortions, with Section 58 targeting the person administering drugs/instruments or the woman herself, and Section 59 targeting those who supply the means (poison, instruments) for abortion, while the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929 (ILPA) introduced the offense of "child destruction" for ending a pregnancy after the fetus is viable, creating an alternative to murder/manslaughter charges for late-term abortions. Together, these laws made most abortions illegal in the UK, though later legislation like the Abortion Act 1967 created exceptions, but sections 58 & 59 OAPA and section 1 ILPA still technically remain on the books for unlawful abortions.
What are the Offences against the Person Act 1861 sections 58 and 59?
58. Administering drugs or using instruments to procure abortion. 59. Procuring drugs, &c. to cause abortion.
What is Section 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act?
59 Procuring drugs, &c. to cause abortion.
What are the Offences against the Person Act 1861 and the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929?
Under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, as well as the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 (which criminalises later abortions), having or providing an abortion remains a crime that carries a life sentence. This is despite these laws having being repealed for Northern Ireland by Westminster in 2019 and 2020.
What is a Section 58 charge?
The legal effect of section 58 is to remove the defence of reasonable punishment to any charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, wounding or grievous bodily harm under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, or to a charge of cruelty to a child under the Children and Young People's Act 1933.
Criminal Procedure, Rights, and Constitutional Protections (Part 1)
What does section 58 mean?
It allows local authorities to protect sections of the highway from certain works, following substantial road works (e.g. resurfacing or reconstruction).
What is Section 58 of the Crimes Act?
Section 58 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1986 effectively operates to limit the Local Court's power to impose consecutive sentences of imprisonment on already existing sentences if to do so would exceed a total continuous sentence of 5 years.
What is a Section 47 offence against a person?
Section 47 OAPA 1861 – maximum 5 years' imprisonment
This offence (section 47 OAPA 1861) is committed when a person intentionally or recklessly assaults another, thereby causing actual bodily harm (ABH). Harm need not be permanent but must be more than transient and trifling: R v Donovan [1934] 2 KB 498.
What is Section 1 of the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929?
1 Punishment for child destruction.
Provided that no person shall be found guilty of an offence under this section unless it is proved that the act which caused the death of the child was not done in good faith for the purpose only of preserving the life of the mother.
What are the 4 types of mens rea?
The four main types of mens rea (guilty mind) under the Model Penal Code (MPC) are Purposely, Knowingly, Recklessly, and Negligently, representing a hierarchy of criminal intent from deliberate action to failing to recognize risks, with "purposely" being the highest level of culpability and "negligently" the lowest, as described in sources like Lawshelf and this Congress.gov page.
What is the meaning of Section 59?
Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 refers to vehicles being used in a manner which causes alarm, distress or annoyance. Where a vehicle is being used in this way, or otherwise amounts to careless or inconsiderate driving, a constable in uniform will have the powers set out in subsection (3) below.
What is the lowest charge of assault?
The lowest assault charge is typically simple assault, often a Class C misdemeanor or equivalent, involving minor offenses like offensive physical contact (poking, spitting) or threats, without causing significant injury, and usually resulting in fines rather than jail time, though penalties vary by jurisdiction. More serious charges, like Class A misdemeanors or felonies, involve bodily harm, intent, or aggravating factors (weapons, victims like public servants).
What is Section 59 of the Crimes Act?
“Every parent or person in place of a parent of a child is justified in using force by way of correction towards a child if that force is reasonable in the circumstances.” This section of the Act was intended to be used as a defence against a charge of assault; it was not intended as an offence under the Act.
What was article 58?
In effect, Article 58 was carte blanche for the secret police to arrest and imprison anyone deemed suspicious, making for its use as a political weapon. Article 58 was applied to Soviet citizens outside the USSR as well.
What is Section 59 of the Crimes Ordinance?
Property, for the purposes of section 59 of the Crimes Ordinance includes, among other things, any programme or data held in a computer or computer storage medium. Destroying or damaging such property includes misusing a computer.
What is the punishment for an illegal abortion?
Furthermore, according to Health and Safety Code Section 123450, anyone who performs an illegal abortion on an unemancipated minor is guilty of a misdemeanor. The penalties for this misdemeanor include: Up to $1,000 in fines. Up to 30 days in county jail.
Will social services take my baby?
Will my baby be taken away? Social services will never take a baby into care just because of a parent's mental health. They will only ever place a baby into care if the parents can't look after them safely (because of a mental health problem or for any other reason).
Why is abortion allowed up to 24 weeks?
The Abortion Act 1967 originally set the abortion time limit at 28 weeks. Following extensive reviews of the medical evidence this was reduced to 24 weeks in 1990 to reflect medical advances.
Does the father of my unborn child have any rights?
A father generally has limited legal rights to an unborn child until paternity is established after birth, with most pre-birth rights belonging to the mother, though fathers can take steps like filing for paternity or opposing adoption; rights like visiting doctor's appointments or being present at birth are often based on cooperation, while court-granted rights for custody/support begin after birth and legal parentage is confirmed.
What is Section 57 of the Offences Against the Person Act?
Section 57 – Bigamy
This section creates the offence of bigamy. It replaces section 22 of the Offences against the Person Act 1828.
What is Section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act?
Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously wound or inflict any grievous bodily harm upon any other person, either with or without any weapon or instrument, [F2shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years.]
What is Section 27 of the Offences Against the Person Ordinance 212?
Under section 27 of the OAPO it is an offence for a person over the age of 16 years who has the custody, charge or care of any child or young person under that age to wilfully assault, ill-treat, neglect, abandon or expose such child or young person to be assaulted, ill-treated, neglected, abandoned or exposed in a ...
What is Section 58 of the Offences Against the Person Act?
58Administering Drugs or using Instruments to procure Abortion.
What are the 4 types of offenses?
Offences against person, property or state. Personal offences, fraudulent offences. Violent offences, sexual offences. Indictable/non-indictable offences etc.
What three elements must be present to prove that an assault occurred?
The three key elements of assault generally involve the perpetrator's Intent (to cause harm or apprehension), the victim's Reasonable Apprehension (of imminent harmful or offensive contact), and the Immediacy or Ability to Carry Out the threat, meaning the victim must reasonably believe the danger is happening now, often with the apparent capability of the assailant to act on the threat, without the need for actual physical contact.