Where the death of
the foetus has been induced with criminal intent, it may be due to
punctured wounds of the fontanelles, orbits, heart, or spinal marrow;
dislocation of the neck; separation of the head from the body; fracture
of the bones of the head and face; strangulation; suffocation; drowning
in the closet pan or privy, or from being thrown into water.
Under the head of infanticide by _commission_, we have injuries of all
kinds; under infanticide by _omission_, neglecting to tie the cord,
allowing it to be suffocated by discharges in the bed, neglect to
provide food, clothes, and warmth, for the new-born child.
XXIX.--DURATION OF PREGNANCY
The natural period of gestation is considered as forty weeks, ten lunar
months, or 280 days. A medical witness would have to admit the
possibility of gestation being prolonged to 300 days, and if this time
were not very materially exceeded it would be well to give the woman
the benefit of the doubt. It may be mentioned that 300 days is the
extreme limit fixed by the French and Scottish law. No fixed period is
assigned in English or American law to the duration of pregnancy, though
it is allowed that utero-gestation may be greatly prolonged.
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