Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §48.8.8.pr

Punishment of Exile for Women Inducing Abortion

Passage 8247 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It is ruled that if a woman induces an abortion by applying physical force to her own body, the provincial governor must sentence her to exile.

[ULPIANUS libro trigensimo tertio ad edictum. ] §48.8.8.prSi mulierem uisceribus suis uim intulisse, quo partum abigeret, constiterit, eam in exilium praeses prouinciae exiget.
[ULPIANUS, On the Edict, Book 33] If it is established that a woman has applied force to her own viscera in order to abort her offspring, the governor of the province shall sentence her to exile.

Notes

  1. §48.8.8.prconstiterit — Perfect (or future perfect) indicative or subjunctive of the impersonal verb constat. It takes the accusative and infinitive clause mulierem...intulisse as its subject, forming a conditional clause 'if it is established that...'.
  2. §48.8.8.pruisceribus suis — Dative complement of uim intulisse. Although uiscera literally means 'viscera' or 'internal organs,' in this context it refers to the 'womb' or 'internal parts,' denoting physical violence applied to oneself to induce abortion.
  3. §48.8.8.prquo — Introducing a purpose clause with the imperfect subjunctive abigeret. Although quo as a conjunction of purpose is normally used with a comparative, here it is used in place of ut without any comparative.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §48.8.8.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:48.8.8.pr

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