Supreme Court Doctor Again Remanded On Abortion Count

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30826, 11 August 1965, Page 11

Supreme Court Doctor Again Remanded On Abortion Count

Saying that he was concerned that a medical report was not before him, Mr Justice Wilson further remanded Norman Francis Boag, aged 72, a doctor, until today when Boag appeared in the Supreme Court yesterday for sentence on a charge of unlawfully using an instrument [with intent to procure a miscarriage.

Boag was found guilty by a jury last week. I By committing the offence, Boag had finished his life, said his counsel (Mr B. McClelland). He had lost a good reputation in the community where he had practised for 44 vears, and brought disgrace on himself and his family. “It is almost inevitable that disciplinary action will be taken against him by the 8.M.A.,” said Mr McClelland. At Boag's age, and in his present state of health—he suffered from a painful arthritis of the neck and cervical soine—imprisonment would be ; cruel, Mr McClelland said- It was not a case for imprisonment, he submitted, but rather for punishment by fine. It was clear that Boag had been persuaded, against his

better judgment, to commit the offence. “As far as I am aware, he has not been in trouble of any kind before,” said Mr McClelland. “I am instructed that this was the first such operation he has done, and the evidence bore that out. He did not act in a manner one would expect from a person used to committing such a crime.

"Boag has finished his life through this action,” said Mr McClelland. “He was left to face the music, while others, when they decided to inform against him, have come out unscathed, and tended, I submit, to be less than frank when giving their evidence.” For the Crown, Mr C. M. Roper made no submission. His Honour said that the erime was usually met by imprisonment, but he was concerned that no medical report was before him, and would further remand Boag to today, so that the report could be before the Court.

I must admit that travel by rocket plane does nqt strike me as my cup of ea.—Sir William Hildred, director general of the International Air Transport Association.