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Act Anent Murthering of Children
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Act Anent Murthering of Children

Historic Documents
Leo Franks
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Act Anent Murthering of Children
Historic Documents
487
Act Anent Murthering of Children
This 19th July 1690 act, as the title suggests, regards dead children. Specifically, it draws attention to mothers who 'conceal her being with Child'. The act declares that, should a child die, their mother would be tried for murder if they did not use others' assistance or declare that they were pregnant. This would remain the case if the deceased child were without wounds or bruises. The act declares that it must be read across the land, at all Parish Churches.

At the time, the Scottish Parliament was particularly concerned about undeclared births, infanticide and the abandonment of children. Parliament desired to rid councils of the expense of caring for these abandoned children. As a result, this act was passed.

The act posed particular difficulties for single mothers of illegitimate children, who did not desire to call attention to the fact. Accused women were typically unmarried and employed as servants. This act increased executions of mothers in Aberdeen - in 1705, four women from Aberdeen were hanged for murdering a child, with a further three executions carried out in 1714. The legal status of the law was unique in that it presumed the woman guilty. Of all offences against the person, it was the second most common in indicting women. (Annie Harrower-Gray, Scotland's Hidden Harlots and Heroines: Women's Role in Scottish Society From 1690-1969 (2014), pp. 44-45).
Broadside
HD04_15
Royal Notice
Aberdeen Local Studies
Yes
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