As technology provides us with more and more information, the status of the unborn child becomes increasingly inflated. This makes it easy to lose sight of the mother as an individual whose wishes are to be respected. She is viewed as a foetal container. Her wishes are respected on condition that they do not endanger the life of the child she is carrying. Even the courts now treat the pregnant woman differently to her non-pregnant fellows, as illustrated in Re S (an English case) and the case of AC (an American case). The laws regarding the foetus in England and Wales and in America are explored. The conclusion reached is that there is no law requiring heroic acts, and that the common law protects the individual from assault and battery. While the child is within the mother her actions would necessarily have to be curtailed in order to protect the interests of the foetus. While within the womb the foetus is a subset of the mother, inextricably linked to her. We cannot hope to protect it by laws that punish the mother, we can only strive to protect the interests of the foetus by protecting the interests of the mother. Once born, however, we can protect the child with the full force of the law from any abuse, neglect or wrongful treatment which it may incur.
Modernising the Common Law Offences of Assault and Battery
