Note 58 — ABORTION AND INFANTICIDE.

Wm. Pizzy and Mary Codd were tried at Bury St. Edmonds, Aug. 11, 1808, for feloniously administering a certain noxious and destructive substance to Ann Cheney, with intent to produce a miscarriage. The trial, taken in short hand by Wm. Notcutt, was published at Ipswich in 1808; but we have not been able to procure a copy; we must therefore content ourselves with observing, on the authority of the Med. Journ. that the Counsel for the prisoners objected to receiving that part of the evidence which related to Pizzy’s manual operations upon Ann Cheney, as not relevant to the administration of the medicines which alone constituted the capital crime; the objection was over-ruled by the court, and the evidence was admitted for the purpose of proving the intention with which the medicines were administered. The examination of Ann Cheney before the magistrates was as follows:

“Saith that she is about the age of 27 years; that she has lived as servant with Mr. Simon Codd, of Haughley, about 12 years last past; that she is an unmarried woman, and was so in the month of February 1806. That in the said month of February 1806, she was delivered of a female bastard child; that she was alone when she was delivered, but that she called out for assistance, but no one came for some minutes; the child was born dead; she never saw it move, or heard it make a noise. That soon after she found herself with child, she acknowledged it to her mistress, Codd, and told her who was the father of the child. Her mistress said, if she would take that which she would get for her, she thought she could order it better than letting any body know it. Soon after that, she saw Mr. Pizzy of Middlesham, the farrier; she told him what was the matter with her; he then gave her some more medicines, and told her they were to make her miscarry. They had not that effect; that she continued to take medicines from him during her whole remaining time of pregnancy; she sometimes received them from her mistress, and sometimes from Pizzy; that her mistress knew what they were for, because she (her mistress) had told her what they were for; that the medicines did not answer the intended purpose; that about a week or ten days before she was delivered, Mr. Pizzy came, and upon her informing him that his medicines had not answered the purpose, he said she must go up stairs with him, which she did; they were alone; he laid her on the floor, on a great coat, upon her back; she put the coat over her head, so that she could not see; she then felt him put some instrument up into her body, which was very cold, like iron; but she did not see it; that, in consequence, she lost some blood, not very much nor very little—suppose about half a pint; did not feel much pain. Pizzy told her it was for the purpose of making her miscarry. Her mistress was at home, and knew for what purpose they went up stairs, but was not present. Pizzy came again the day before she was brought to bed. Examinant told him she had not miscarried; he then said he must try something further; her mistress was present, and heard this. Pizzy and examinant went up stairs again, but her mistress was not present. Pizzy laid her down, as he did before, on her back, and passed his hand three times up into her body half way of his arm, which was naked, which gave her a great deal of pain; and this examinant felt herself very wet, and never felt the child move afterwards. Examinant thinks she had not gone her time by six or seven weeks. She felt the child move after she was so first treated by Pizzy, and till within a day or two before the second time. She thinks she did not go her full time, from the treatment she received from Pizzy.”