II. The woman who purposely destroys her unborn
child is guilty of murder. With us there is no nice enquiry as to
its being formed or unformed. In this case it is not only the
being about to be born who is vindicated, but the woman in her attack
upon herself; because in most cases women who make such attempts
die. The destruction of the embryo is an additional crime, a
second murder, at all events if we regard it as done with intent.
The punishment, however, of these women should not be for life, but for
the term of ten years. And let their treatment depend not on mere
lapse of time, but on the character of their repentance.