R v. Tait.

Abstract

Stephen Tait and a friend had gone to Colin McIntyre's house to frighten him. McIntyre's two daughters were home, and the elder, Wendy, was pregnant. McIntyre was not home, so Tait and his friend stole some property and then threatened Wendy and her sister not to tell the police, or they would all be hurt, including Wendy's "baby." The men were arrested, charged, and convicted of threatening to kill Wendy, her sister, and Wendy's baby. Tait appealed the conviction for threatening to kill the baby on grounds that the baby was still unborn. The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction, arguing that because the fetus in utero was not, in the ordinary sense, another person distinct from its mother, Tait's threat to kill it was not a distinct offense.