"In the present instance, it is a servant-girl who has borne the
child. A girl, unmarried, and consequently trying all through the
critical time to hide her condition. And why must she seek to hide it?
Because of society. Society despises the unmarried woman who bears
a child. Not only does society offer her no protection, but it
persecutes her, pursues her with contempt and disgrace. Atrocious! No
human creature with any heart at all could help feeling indignant at
such a state of things. Not only is the girl to bring a child into the
world, a thing in itself surely hard enough, but she is to be treated
as a criminal for that very fact. I will venture to say that it was
well for the unfortunate girl now accused before the court that her
child was born by accident when she fell into the water, and drowned.
Well for herself and for the child. As long as society maintains its
present attitude, an unmarried mother should be counted guiltless even
if she does kill her child."

Here a slight murmur was heard from the presiding justice.

"Or at any rate, her punishment should be merely nominal," said Fru
Heyerdahl. "We are all agreed, of course," she went on, "that infant
life should be preserved, but is that to mean that no law of simple
humanity is to apply to the unfortunate mother? Think, consider
what she has been through during all the period of pregnancy, what
suffering she has endured in striving to hide her condition, and all
the time never knowing where to turn for herself and the child when it
comes. No man can imagine it," said she. "The child is at least killed
in kindness. The mother tries to save herself and the child she loves
from the misery of its life. The shame is more than she can bear, and
so the plan gradually forms itself in her mind, to put the child out
of the way. The birth takes place in secret, and the mother is for
four-and-twenty hours in such a delirious state that at the moment
of killing the child she is simply not responsible for her actions.
Practically speaking, she has not herself committed the act at all,
being out of her senses at the time. With every bone in her body
aching still after her delivery, she has to take the little creature's
life and hide away the body--think what an effort of will is demanded
here! Naturally, we all wish all children to live; we are distressed
at the thought that any should be exterminated in such a way. But
it is the fault of society that it is so; the f