Offences Against the Person Act 1861

Multiple Choice

Offences Against the Person Act 1861
58 Every woman, being with child, who, with intent to procure her own miscarriage, shall administer to herself any poison or other noxious thing, or shall unlawfully use any instrument or other means whatsoever with the like intent, and whosoever, with intent to procure the miscarriage of any woman, whether or not she be with child, shall unlawfully administer to her or cause to be taken by her any poison or other noxious thing, or shall unlawfully use any instrument or other means whatsoever with the like intent, shall be guilty of felony…
Which of the following statements constitute the basic offence as set out by section 58?

A) The offence applies to two categories of offender - the woman herself and another offender. Both will be guilty of the offence if they administer poison or other noxious thing, or use an instrument on the pregnant woman, with the intention of procuring a miscarriage.
B) The offence applies to two categories of offender - the woman herself and another offender. Both will be guilty of the offence if they administer poison or other noxious thing, or use an instrument, with the intention of procuring a miscarriage. The difference between the two categories of offender is that, for the woman herself to be guilty, actual pregnancy must be shown, whereas the other offender can be guilty whether or not the woman is actually pregnant or not.
C) The offence applies to two categories of offender - the woman herself and another offender. Both will be guilty of the offence if they administer poison or other noxious thing, or use an instrument, with the intention of procuring a miscarriage. The difference between the two categories of offender is that the woman herself will be guilty whether she is pregnant or not, whereas the other offender can be only be guilty if the woman is actually pregnant.