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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §47.11.4.pr

Temporary Exile for Intentional Abortion

Passage 8051 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

On the imperial rescript stating that a woman who intentionally procures an abortion should be sentenced to temporary exile by the governor, as it is unjust to deprive her husband of children with impunity.

[MARCIANUS libro primo regularum. ] §47.11.4.prDiuus Seuerus et Antoninus rescripserunt eam, quae data opera abegit, a praeside in temporale exilium dandam: indignum enim uideri potest impune eam maritum liberis fraudasse.
[MARCIANUS, from the first book of Rules.] The Divine Severus and Antoninus issued a rescript that a woman who has intentionally procured an abortion should be sentenced by the governor to temporary exile; for it may seem unjust that she should with impunity have defrauded her husband of children.

Notes

  1. §47.11.4.prdata opera — An adverbial expression derived from an ablative absolute, meaning "on purpose" or "intentionally."
  2. §47.11.4.prabegit — Perfect tense of abigere (to drive away), used here in the specialized sense of "to procure an abortion" or "to induce a miscarriage," without an explicit object.
  3. §47.11.4.prmaritum liberis fraudasse — The verb fraudare takes the construction "accusative (person) + ablative (thing deprived)", meaning "to defraud or deprive someone of something". Here, maritum (husband) is in the accusative and liberis (children) is in the ablative.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §47.11.4.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:47.11.4.pr

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