More than 70,000 illegitimate children will be born in Great Britain this year. The first Parliamentary Act on the subject was passed in 1576; there have been adjustments since then but not many. Parliament appointed a Committee three years ago to bring about changes in the law. The House of Commons has still not found time to consider the Committee's recommendations. Meanwhile the attitude of society, as well as the law, can make the life of an illegitimate one of stigma and distress. They are the men and women who feel themselves to be alone, rejected: punished through no fault of their own.