HC Deb 04 February 1931 vol 247 cc1815-9
Miss PICTON-TURBERVILL

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to prohibit the passing of the sentence of death upon expectant mothers; and for other purposes connected therewith. I ask hon. Members to note carefully that the Bill does not provide for the expectant mother evading the sentence which she would otherwise be called upon to endure. It deals with a sentence which nowadays has become a tragic and painful farce. It is unnecessary to bring in a law to prohibit the execution of the expectant mother, because that law already exists. When a woman who has been convicted of murder is found to be with child, the court is bound to decree a stay of execution. It is true that the reprieve is for a short while only, until the birth of the child, but so repugnant is it to all feelings of decency and humanity that the death sentence should hang over the woman until the birth of her child, and that then she should be executed, that in modern practice the temporary reprieve is always followed by a final reprieve by the Crown and the punishment becomes one of penal servitude. Who, then, can favour the passing of the death sentence when by law it cannot be put into effect for several months and by custom it is never put into effect at all. After a. conviction for murder, no matter how extenuating the circumstances, how strong the recommendation to mercy may be, the judge has no option but to pronounce sentence of death. It is only after the sentence of death has been pronounced that the woman has an opportunity of saying that she is an expectant mother. In that case, a jury of matrons is empanelled and a doctor's services are secured, and, if it be correct, the court must grant a reprieve, which becomes a final reprieve, and not for 70 years has the sentence of the court been put into execution.

This Bill, which is a very simple one, and which purposely is not complicated with other necessary reforms, provides that a woman shall be given the opportunity of stating that she is an expectant mother before the death sentence, and, in the event of that statement being correct, the death sentence shall not be pronounced upon her at all. A tragic incident recently occurred which has drawn public attention to the unsatisfactory state of the law. A very poor woman, who was an expectant mother, made heroic efforts to provide food and shelter for her babe nine months old. She tried to secure this in every available quarter without success and finally killed her child by gas poisoning. I have been told on very high authority that nearly always, when a mother takes the life of her own child, it is only after she has been driven to desperation by desertion and destitution and despair. In the case to which I have referred it was well known all through the trial that the woman was an expectant mother; nevertheless, the death sentence was pro nounced upon her. Everyone knows what the scene in court is like on such an occasion, the breathless waiting for the jury to return, the verdict, the deathly silence, the putting on of the black cap, the terrible concentration of the whole court on the words that are about to be uttered, and then the sentence: that you be hanged by the neck until you be dead. That sentence, being pronounced after a long trial in which life is in the balance, has had the effect of causing the complete collapse even of strong men and women. What then can be the effect upon a woman who not only is about to give birth to a child but who in nearly every case has had a long period of poverty, anxiety, hunger and malnutrition I Not only have we to think of the woman upon whom the shock is severe but we have to think of the unborn but living child upon whom the shock may well be lifelong in its disastrous effect. The present law was formulated when pre-natal science was in its infancy, if indeed it existed at all. Reformers have long wished for a change in the law. Judges and lawyers for many years have regarded this duty of theirs with disfavour. The time has come when the law can and should be altered. Indeed, it is on record that one learned and benevolent judge so disliked the duty he had to perform that he begged the woman not to listen to a word which he had to say, and he mumbled the sentence in such a way that even the court could not hear a word which came from his lips.

Parliament and lawyers love a precedent. We have a precedent for this Bill near at hand. In Scotland for upwards of 150 years the death sentence has not been passed upon an expectant mother. Ever since 1765 when they passed the law, even when the administration of the Criminal Law in Scotland, in the 18th century, was looked upon as harsh and barbarous, Scotland has not tolerated what England tolerates to-day. If support is given to this Bill in all parts of the House, I hope and believe, indeed, I not only hope, I not only believe, but I am confident that the Government will give facilities this Session to pass it through all its stages and put it on to the Statute Book of England.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill ordered to be brought in by Miss Picton-Turbervill, Mr. McEntee, Lieut.-Commander Kenworthy, Mr. Kirkwood, Dr. Phillips, Dr. Hastings, Dr. Morris-Jones, Viscount Elmley, Major Sir John Birchall, Sir Nicholas Grattan-Doyle, Mr. Ramsbothnm, and Commander Bellairs.