This work exÂplores the philosophical underpinnings of the law of homicide via an historical, thematic, logical and philosophical analysis of the anomalous legal status of the unborn child in the two major common-law jurisdictions, England & Wales and the USA. The book describes a trajectory from a consideration of the history and social embodiment of a particular rule of the criminal law to a broader and more reflective philosophical and jurisprudential discussion of the questions that it raises for the law and for society as a whole.