The Unmarried Mother

NZ Truth, Issue 1017, 23 May 1925, Page 7

The Unmarried Mother

AMELIORATION OF. HER UNHAPPY LOT. Proposal to add to Putative Father's Responsibilities. Tduching on the unhappy lot of the unmarried mother, some far-reaching suggesjtions for amendment of the maintenance laws as they affect affiliation cases have been resolved on by the Christchurch branch of the' Society for the Protection of Women and Children for submission to legislative consideration. ■ > - , One is that the father of an illegitimate having- knowledg-e of the pregnancy of the mother shall be charged with the following legal duties: -(a) The duty of providing for the mother one month before ar^d after the birth of the child; (b) the duty of providing for the maintenance of the child immediately on delivery. Breaches of either of these rules shall constitute the commission of a crime, subjecting the 'offender to either a f< monetary penalty or imprisonment at" the discretion of. the Court. If the breach is followed by the death of either, the child or the mother, the defaulting , father to be deemed guilty of man-, slaughter. This may sound drastic (writes "Uptodata"), but -the Society m its branch work comes across cases of the most extraordinary hardness, carelessness, and cruelty on the part of those responsible for illegitimates. A case might be cited which came before one of the branches lately. A yo.ung girl who was employed m. a country -home/became pregnant, and named the son of her employers as the father of her child. This was. not denied, but the. girl was sent away, coming to one of the" Maternity Homes, where she and the child .died. The expenses m connection with her trouble and death, came to about £50, and her; parents asked the defaulter to pay at least" soihe of it. The fathe^ of the young man Agreed to do ■ so, but the- money has never been paid, and probably never will be, for the time has gone by to take the case to Court. When, such cases as this can be said to be fairly frequent, st v is time that the law was so amended that it will appeal to the immoral an* ungoverned as a dangerous proceeding to give way to immorality of the kind described. Selfishness of another kind will be- awakened, and young and foolish girls will be- protected from' their own folly — -to the- benefit of all concerned: ... - ■■'."'•.... The: other provision deals with rather it difficult question m maintenance,, and, shorn of legal phrasp, provides that those who promise •to pay .maintenance other, than that ordered by the Court, and the promise is approved by the Magistrate, will be under- the same obligation as if the order had been made m the usual way. That is to touch those people who go to Court, and make fair promises to the Magistrate of doing their duty to those who should be dependent on them, but whom they are neglecting, arid . the Magistrate accepts the promise as given m good, faith and does not make an order.' fit is the unfortunate experience of the Society that as a general rule the matter ends witht the promise, m Court; hence the • suggested amendment.