On 12 May 2008,  Benedict XVI  accepted an invitation to talk to participants in the International Congress organized by the  Pontifical Lateran University  on the 40th anniversary of  Humanae vitae . He put the encyclical in the broader view of love in a global context, a topic he called "so controversial, yet so crucial for humanity's future."  Humanae vitae  became "a  sign of contradiction  but also of continuity of the Church's doctrine and tradition... What was true yesterday is true also today." [ 69 ]  The Church continues to reflect "in an ever new and deeper way on the fundamental principles that concern marriage and procreation." The key message of  Humanae vitae  is love. Benedict states, that the fullness of a person is achieved by a unity of soul and body, but neither spirit nor body alone can love, only the two together. If this unity is broken, if only the body is satisfied, love becomes a commodity. [ 70 ]


On 16 January 2015, Pope Francis said to a meeting with families in Manila, insisting on the need to protect the family: "The family is   [...] threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life. I think of Blessed Paul VI. At a time when the problem of population growth was being raised, he had the courage to defend openness to life in families. He knew the difficulties that are there in every family, and so in his Encyclical he was very merciful towards particular cases, and he asked confessors to be very merciful and understanding in dealing with particular cases. But he also had a broader vision: he looked at the peoples of the earth and he saw this threat of the destruction of the family through the privation of children [original Spanish:  destrucción de la familia por la privación de los hijos ]. Paul VI was courageous; he was a good pastor and he warned his flock of the wolves who were coming." [ 71 ] [ 72 ]


A year before, on 1 May 2014,  Pope Francis , in an interview given to Italian newspaper  Corriere della Sera , expressed his opinion and praise for  Humanae vitae : "Everything depends on how  Humanae vitae  is interpreted. Paul VI himself, in the end, urged confessors to be very merciful and pay attention to concrete situations. But his genius was prophetic, he had the courage to take a stand against the majority, to defend moral discipline, to exercise a cultural restraint, to oppose present and future  neo-Malthusianism . The question is not of changing doctrine, but of digging deep and making sure that pastoral care takes into account situations and what it is possible for persons to do." [ 73 ]


The  French Institute for Demographic Studies  ( French :  Institut national d'études démographiques ,  pronounced   [ɛ̃stity   nasjɔnal   detyd   demɔɡʁafik] ,  INED ) is a French research institute specializing in  demography  and  population  studies in general.


In 1941,  Nobel Prize  winner  Alexis Carrel , an early proponent of  eugenics  and  euthanasia , and a member of  Jacques Doriot 's  French Popular Party  (PPF), advocated for the creation of the  French Foundation for the Study of Human Problems  ( Fondation Française pour l'Étude des Problèmes Humains ), using connections to the Pétain cabinet. Charged with the "study, in all of its aspects, of measures aimed at safeguarding, improving and developing the French population in all of its activities", the Foundation was created by decree of the collaborationist Vichy regime in 1941, and Carrel appointed as 'regent'. [ 1 ]  The Foundation also had for some time as general secretary  François Perroux . [ clarification needed ]


The Foundation was behind the 16 December 1942 Act mandating the " prenuptial certificate ", which required all couples seeking marriage to submit to a biological examination, to insure the "good health" of the spouses, in particular with regard to  sexually transmitted diseases  (STD) and "life hygiene". Carrel's institute also conceived the "scholar booklet" ( "livret scolaire "), which could be used to record students' grades in  French secondary schools , and thus classify and select them according to scholastic performance. Besides these eugenic activities aimed at classifying the population and improving its health, the Foundation also supported the 11 October 1946 law instituting  occupational medicine , enacted by the  Provisional Government of the French Republic  (GPRF) after the Liberation.


The Foundation initiated studies on demographics (Robert Gessain, Paul Vincent, Jean Bourgeois), nutrition (Jean Sutter), and housing (Jean Merlet), as well as the first polls ( Jean Stoetzel ). The foundation, which after the war became the INED demographics institute, employed 300 researchers from the summer of 1942 to the end of the autumn of 1944. [ 2 ]  "The foundation was chartered as a public institution under the joint supervision of the ministries of finance and public health. It was given financial autonomy and a budget of forty million francs, roughly one franc per inhabitant: a true luxury considering the burdens imposed by the German Occupation on the nation's resources. By way of comparison, the whole  Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique  (CNRS) was given a budget of fifty million francs." [ 1 ]


Alexis Carrel had previously published in 1935 the best-selling book  L'Homme, cet inconnu  ("Man, This Unknown"). Since the early 1930s, Carrel had advocated the use of  gas chambers  to rid humanity of its "inferior stock", and endorsed  scientific racism  discourse. One of the founders of these  pseudoscientific  theories had been  Arthur de Gobineau  in his 1853–1855 essay titled  An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races . In the 1936 preface to the German edition of his book, Carrel had added praise for the eugenics policies of the  Third Reich , writing that:


(t)he German government has taken energetic measures against the propagation of the defective, the mentally diseased, and the criminal. The ideal solution would be the suppression of each of these individuals as soon as he has proven himself to be dangerous. [ 3 ]


INED was founded by virtue of the ministerial order no. 45-2499 of 24 October 1945.  It was created on the initiative of the eminent paediatrician  Robert Debré  (1882-1978), who had submitted a report on the institutionalization of demography to the Comité français de la Libération nationale d'Alger in January 1944. To head the institute, General  Charles de Gaulle  appointed the statistician and economist  Alfred Sauvy  who, as advisor to the President of the Council,  Paul Reynaud , had drafted the French government's first pro-natalist measures in 1938.  INED moved into the premises of the  Fondation française pour l'étude des problèmes humains  headed by Dr  Alexis Carrel , and employed around 7% of the foundation's personnel, which counted only a handful of demographers.


The 1945 order defined the missions of INED: "The role of INED is to study demographic problems in all their aspects.  To this end, the Institute will collect the relevant documentation, conduct surveys, carry out experiments and follow experiments conducted abroad, study the material and moral means which may contribute to the quantitative growth of the population and its qualitative development, and ensure the dissemination of demographic knowledge".


The early days were difficult for INED.  With the unexpected onset of the  baby boom  (200,000 additional births in France in 1946), an institute to promote fertility became apparently superfluous.  But before long, INED was asked to study the consequences of the baby boom and its effect on housing, school enrolment, employment, infant and maternal mortality.  The first INED demographers, mostly graduates of Ecole Polytechnique, drew inspiration from  Alfred J. Lotka  (1880-1949) and Pierre Depoid (1909-1968) to develop original  demographic analysis  methods which affirmed the scientific independence of INED and established its international reputation.  Eminent INED researchers include:


The work of these pioneers was set down in the manuals and the dictionary of demography written by  Roland Pressat  (who joined INED in 1953), which became essential reading for generations of students.  Pressat disseminated the principles of demographic analysis internationally, notably in Quebec, Eastern Europe and Africa.  It is he who devised the modern form of the " Lexis diagram ", a key tool for demonstrating the relationship between periods and cohorts.
The sociologist  Jean Stoetzel  (1910-1987), who founded  IFOP  in 1938 after working as an internee for  Gallup  in America, was a pioneer of survey studies at INED. With the help of Alain Girard (1914-1996), he launched surveys on women's employment, ideal family size, choice of spouse, immigration, etc.  He was succeeded in this area by  Louis Roussel  in the 1970s, and by Henri Léridon in the 1980s.


The social history of population is represented by  Louis Chevalier  (1911-2001), a historian of Paris, who was elected to the Collège de France in 1952; the history of disease by Dr Jean-Noël Biraben.


Population genetics were developed successively by Jean Sutter (1910-1970) and Albert Jacquard (1925- ).


A second generation of INED researchers joined the institute in 1965, some from the Ecole Polytéchnique (Daniel Courgeau, Henri Leridon, Hervé Le Bras) and others from wide-ranging backgrounds (Jacques Vallin, Georges Tapinos [1940-2000], Patrick Festy, Chantal Blayo, Jean-Claude Chesnais).


Through a 1986  decree [ 4 ]  which superseded the 1945 order, INED became a public scientific and technological establishment ( établissement public à caractère scientifique et technologique , EPST), with a legal status similar to that of other French public research bodies such as CNRS, INRA, INSERM and IRD (former ORSTOM). Previously attached to the various social ministries, INED's main supervisory authority was henceforth the Ministry of Education and Research (which pays the civil servant salaries at INED).  INED is also attached to the ministries in charge of population questions and health statistics (social affairs, health or employment, depending on the government in power).
With the decree of 1986, the pro-natalist objectives of 1945 disappeared. INED's new mission was to develop and disseminate demographic knowledge with the aim of fostering general economic and social progress.  Under the decree of 1986, the missions of INED are defined as follows:


The late 1990s brought a third generation of senior researchers, including graduates of Ecole Polytechnique, of ENSAE, of the Institut de démographie de Paris, and of Ecole Normale, along with several doctors of medicine.   A growing number of women now occupy senior positions at INED.  Since 1990, researchers have been recruited by competitive examination after obtaining their PhD.  New generations of researchers, born in the 1960s and 1970s are now extending the depth and scope of research at INED.


Chairman of the Board of Administration:


Chairman of the Scientific Council:


Chairman of the Evaluation Committee:


General secretary:


In 2007, INED has a staff of 200, including 60 tenured researchers, 110 technicians and engineers, plus around 20 PhD students and associate researchers.


Like other French public research institutions, INED has two categories of researchers – research officers and research directors – each comprising two grades.


As of January 2000, INED comprises 11 research units and several departments (surveys, library and documentation, publications, IT, etc.) A statistical methods department was set up in January 2007.


While maintaining a flexible structure of specialized units (researchers may belong to two units simultaneously), INED has developed a system of organization by projects, built around some 30 key projects which are assessed by the Scientific Council and whose detailed content is presented on the INED website.  These key projects include major household surveys and European projects.


There are three other European research institutes comparable to INED: NIDI (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute) in The Hague (Netherlands), MPIDR (Max-Planck Institute for Demographic Research) in Rostock (Germany) and VID (Vienna Institute of demography) in Vienna (Austria), founded respectively in 1970, 1996 and 2002, and largely based on the model of INED. In the other countries of Europe, demographers work in universities or national statistical offices.  INED maintains close relations with its various European counterparts, via both European Commission research projects and international consortia linked to the United Nations.


Since 2000, INED has hosted the world headquarters of the  International Union for the Scientific Study of Population  (IUSSP), of which it is a member along with other national demographic research organizations.


In March 1998, after fifteen years in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, INED moved to new premises in the 20th arrondissement, at 133 boulevard Davout.


Though government-funded research is not the same thing as government statistics, INED works closely with French statistical bodies, notably INSEE (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques).


It is nevertheless different from  INSEE  in several ways.  While INSEE is a department of the Economy and Finance Ministry present in all regions of France and employing more than 5,000 people, INED is an institute of just 200 people attached to the Ministry of Research and based exclusively in Paris (though some of its researchers work on long-term assignments abroad).  INSEE calculates the demographic indicators of France (birth rate, death rate, fertility, life expectancy) using vital records and census data. INSEE also estimates net migration using administrative data.  INED reprocesses these data, adjusts them if necessary and performs in-depth analyses.  It uses complementary sources (such as first residence permits awarded by the prefectures) and organizes surveys to collect new data.  The scope of the two organizations is also different: INSEE focuses primarily on France, while INED studies all countries of the world.


Though demography is central to INED, the scope of its research covers all forms of "population studies".  Its researchers have very diverse fields of expertise, including sociology, economics, geography, history, political science, public health and statistics.


INED's current research themes, covered by its thirty key projects, include:


Half of INED's budget and research activity are devoted to the demography of France, and half to the demography of other countries.  The regions most extensively covered are, in decreasing order, Western Europe, Central Europe, the Arab world, western Africa, Asia and Latin America.


To study the demographic and health transition in western Africa, INED runs three demographic surveillance sites in three groups of villages where it records demographic events and causes of death to analyse ongoing trends:


Half the INED research budget (excluding payroll costs) is devoted to major surveys of households and individuals. They are conducted by the INED Surveys Department, often in collaboration with INSEE.  Surveys carried out since the 1980s include:


INED produces a range of publications:


Sexuality in Islam  contains a wide range of views and laws, which are largely predicated on the  Quran , and the sayings attributed to  Muhammad  ( hadith ) and the rulings of religious leaders ( fatwa ) confining sexual activity to marital relationships between men and women. [ 1 ] [ 2 ]   Sexual jurisprudence  ( Arabic :  الفقه الجنسي [ a ] ) and  marital jurisprudence  ( Arabic :  فقه النكاح [ b ] ) are the codifications of Islamic scholarly perspectives and rulings on sexuality, which both in turn also contain components of  Islamic family jurisprudence ,  Islamic marital jurisprudence ,  hygienical ,  criminal  and  bioethical   jurisprudence . [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ]


All instructions regarding sex in Islam are considered parts of, firstly,  Taqwa  or obedience and secondly,  Iman  or faithfulness to  God . [ 9 ] [ 10 ]  Sensitivity to gender difference and  modesty  outside of marriage can be seen in current prominent aspects of Muslim cultures, such as interpretations of  Islamic dress  and degrees of  gender segregation . [ 11 ]  Islamic marital jurisprudence allows Muslim men to be married to multiple women (a practice known as  polygyny ).


The Quran and the  hadiths  allow only sex with  married  ( nikāḥ ) and "what the right hand owns". [ 12 ]  This historically permitted men to have extramarital sex with concubines and sex slaves. Contraceptive use is permitted for birth control. Acts of homosexual intercourse are  prohibited , although  Muhammad , the main prophet of Islam, never forbade  non-sexual relationships. [ 13 ]


Islam has strongly emphasized the concept of decency and modesty ( haya ) and chastity; besides the lawful sexuality, priority is given to modesty and chastity both inside and outside the marital relationships. The Quran warns against immoral lust ( fahisha ), [ 14 ] [ 15 ]  and the  hadith literature , modesty has been described as "a part of faith". [ 16 ]  Islam strictly discourages nudity and public nakedness, [ 17 ] [ 18 ]  and it is also forbidden for spouses to spread the secrets of what happens between them in their private marital life. [ 19 ]


Islam has a long tradition of pragmatism with respect to sex education, with sex being readily discussed and not subject or taboo as long as the topics under discussion were Islamically permissible. A  hadith  attributed to Muhammad's wife  Aisha  states that the  Ansar  women in particular were not shy about asking questions regarding sexual matters as long as they are halal. [ 20 ] [ better source needed ]  From as early as the 14th-century, entire manuscripts devoted to Islamic sexual education were being written in Arabic in Baghdad, which at that time was a great literary centre within the Muslim world. [ 21 ]


The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight  ( Arabic : الروض العاطر في نزهة الخاطر) is a fifteenth-century Arabic Islamic sex manual and work of erotic literature by Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Nefzawi, also known simply as "Nefzawi". The book presents opinions on what qualities men and women should have to be attractive and gives advice on sexual technique, warnings about  sexual health , and recipes to remedy sexual maladies. It gives lists of names for the  penis  and  vulva , and has a section on the interpretation of dreams. Interspersed with these there are a number of stories which are intended to give context and amusement.


According to  Abdullah Nasih Ulvan , sex education is not recommended until the approach of puberty, and children are expected to be taught the signs of this as well as the characteristics which distinguish men from women. [ 22 ]  Islamic tradition also encourages that sexual education be entwined with morality, explaining Islamic rules involving the covering the intimate parts of the body,  ‘ awrah , and the Islamic positions on modesty, chastity and avoiding  promiscuity . [ 22 ]


Khitan  or  Khatna  ( Arabic :  ختان ,  Arabic :  ختنة ) is the term for male  circumcision  carried out as a  cultural rite  by Muslims and is considered a sign of belonging to the wider  Islamic  community. [ 23 ]  Whether or not it should be carried out after  converting to Islam  is debated among Islamic scholars. [ 24 ] [ 25 ]  The Quran does not mention circumcision, either explicitly or implicitly, in any verse, while some  hadiths  mention circumcision in a list of practices known as  fitra  (acts considered to be of a refined person). However, different hadiths contradict on whether circumcision is part of fitra or not. According to some traditions Muhammad was born without a  foreskin  ( aposthetic ), while others maintain that his grandfather  Abdul-Muttalib  circumcised him when he was seven days old. [ 26 ] [ 27 ]  Islamic sources that advocate for circumcision also do not fix a particular time for circumcision, which can depend on family, region and country. The preferred age is usually seven although some Muslims are circumcised as early as the seventh day after birth and as late as the commencement of  puberty . [ 23 ]


Bāligh  or  bulūgh  ( Arabic :  بالغ or بُلوغ ) refers to a person who has reached  puberty  or  adulthood , and has full responsibility under  Islamic law . In Islam, human life is divided into two parts, the first is before adolescence or childhood, when man is considered innocent, and the second is after adolescence ( bulugiyat ) or adulthood, when the Islamic law is fully applied to man and the hereafter is judged. If a person dies before he becomes an adult, he is considered to be in heaven. [ 28 ] [ 29 ]


The minimum age for puberty in boys is approximately 12 lunar years, and in the absence of symptoms, approximately 15 lunar years to maximum 18 lunar years, or may vary by geographical region; in the case of boys, the characteristics or signs of puberty, pubic hair growth and semen discharge (wet dreams).
The minimum age of puberty for girls is approximately 9 lunar years and if absence of no symptoms  are found, it can be considered as approximately 15  lunar years  to maximum 17 lunar years or 18 lunar years, or may vary by geographical region in case of girls. The characteristics or signs of puberty in girls are pubic hair, menstruation, wet dreams and the ability to conceive. [ 29 ] [ 30 ] [ 31 ]


In issues pertaining to  marriage ,  baligh  refers to the legal expression  hatta tutiqa'l-rijal , which means a wedding may not take place until a girl is physically fit for  sexual intercourse . This can also, though not necessarily, coincide with the reaching of  sexual maturity  manifested by  menses  or  nocturnal emission . [ 32 ]  Only after a separate condition called  rushd , or intellectual maturity to handle one's own property, is reached can a wife receive her  bridewealth . [ 32 ]


The Qur'an makes specific mention of menstruation in  Quran 2:222  that instructs Muslims to "keep aloof from the women during the menstrual discharge and do not go near them until they have become clean; then when they have cleansed themselves, go in to them as Allah has commanded you", [ 33 ]  language that is taken to clearly imply that sexual relations during menstruation are prohibited. [ 34 ]  Ibn Kathīr, a  muhaddith , narrated a hadith that describes Muhammad's habits with his menstruating wives. This hadith demonstrates that Muhammad gave licence to all forms of spousal intimacy during the period of menstruation with the exception of vaginal intercourse. Women are required to perform ritual cleansing ( ghusl ) before resuming religious duties or sexual relations upon completion of their menstruation. [ 35 ]


Sexual intercourse is also prohibited during menstruation, [ 34 ]  for forty days after childbirth ( puerperium ), during the daylight hours of the month of  Ramadan  (i.e. while fasting) and on pilgrimage. While in the sanctuary (in Ahram) at Mecca, pilgrims are not allowed to have intercourse, and marriages performed during the pilgrimage are invalid. [ 36 ]


Nocturnal emission is not a sin in Islam. Moreover, whereas a person fasting (in  Ramadan  or otherwise) would normally be considered to have broken their fast by ejaculating on purpose (during either masturbation or intercourse), nocturnal emission is not such a cause. They are still required to bathe prior to undergoing some rituals in the religion. Muslim scholars consider ejaculation something that makes one temporarily ritually impure, a condition known as  junub ; meaning that a  Muslim  who has had an orgasm or ejaculated must have a  ghusl . [ 37 ]


In  Islam  and  Islamic law  ( sharia ),  marriage  ( nikāḥ  نکاح) is a legal and social  contract  between two individuals that outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom and bride. [ 38 ]   Polygyny is permitted in Islam  under some conditions. [ 39 ]   Both the groom and the bride are to consent to the marriage of their own free wills. Marriage is an act of  Islam  and is strongly recommended. [ 38 ]  In Islamic jurisprudence, the primary purpose of sex between marriage and concubinage is  procreation . Islam recognizes the strong sexual urge and desire for reproduction and supports a  pro-natalist  view of procreation. [ 40 ]


Divorce in Islam  can take a variety of forms, some executed by a husband personally and some executed by a religious court on behalf of a plaintiff wife who is successful in her legal divorce petition for valid cause. [ 41 ]


In addition to  nikah , there is a different fixed-term marriage known as  zawāj al-mut'ah  ("temporary marriage") [ 42 ] : 1045   permitted only by the  Twelver  branch of  Shi'ite  for a pre-fixed period. [ 43 ] [ 44 ] : 242  [ 45 ] [ 46 ]  There is also  Nikah Misyar , a non-temporary marriage with the removal of some conditions such as living together, permitted by some Sunni scholars. [ 47 ] [ 48 ] [ 49 ]


In Islam, the husband should have intercourse with his wife according to what satisfies her, so long as that does not harm him physically or keep him from earning a living. The husband is obliged to treat his wife in a kind and reasonable manner. Part of that kind and reasonable treatment is intercourse, with tradition stipulating that couples should not forego intercourse for longer than four months, [ 50 ]  though some prominent scholars have prescribed a more stringent minimum frequency of sexual intercourse as a religious obligation for husbands;  Ibn Hazm  prescribed once a month and  Al-Ghazali  prescribed once every four days. [ 51 ]  According to other scholars, there is no time limit. [ 52 ]  However, most scholars say that it is obligatory on women alike not to refuse their husbands if they call them, so long as the woman who is called is not menstruating or sick in such a way that intercourse will be harmful to her, or observing an obligatory fast. If she refuses with no excuse, then she is cursed. [ 53 ]


Interfaith marriages  are recognized between Muslims and Non-Muslim " People of the Book " (usually  Jews ,  Christians , and  Sabians ). [ 55 ]  According to the traditional interpretation of Islamic law ( sharīʿa ), a Muslim man is allowed to marry a Christian or Jewish woman but this ruling does not apply to women who belong to  other Non-Muslim religious groups , [ 56 ] : 755   whereas a Muslim woman is not allowed to marry a Non-Muslim man of any Non-Muslim religious group. [ 57 ] [ 58 ]  However, marriage with an  idolatress  or  idolater  is forbidden. [ 59 ]


In the case of a Muslim-Christian marriage, which is to be contracted only after permission from the Christian party, the Christian spouse is not to be prevented from  attending church  for prayer and worship, according to the  Ashtiname of Muhammad , a treaty between Muslims and Christians recorded between  Muhammad  and  Saint Catherine's Monastery . [ 54 ] [ 60 ]


Before the abolition of slavery,  concubinage  existed alongside marriage as a permitted relationship in Islamic law that allowed a man to have sexual intercourse with his female slaves. [ 61 ]  Concubinage, which was a sexual relationship between a Muslim man and an unmarried female slave whom he owned, was the only legal sexual relationship outside marriage in Islamic law.


"Concubine" ( surriyya ) refers to the female slave ( jāriya ), whether Muslim or non-Muslim, with whom her master engages in sexual intercourse. The word  surriyya  is not mentioned in the Quran. However, the expression " Ma malakat aymanukum " (that which your right hands own), which occurs fifteen times in the sacred book, refers to slaves and therefore, though not necessarily, to concubines. Concubinage was a pre-Islamic custom that was allowed to be practised under Islam through some reform with Jews and non-Muslim people. Muhammad also inspired to free "converted pious" concubines and marry them. [ 62 ]


Islamic jurisprudence sets limits on the master's right to sexual intercourse with his female slave. A man's ownership of his unmarried slave-girl gave him an exclusive right to have sex with her under the condition that he could not sell her to others (in order to prevent prostitution of slaves) and neither harm her. [ 63 ]  A man could own a limitless number of concubines that he could afford and maintain their upkeep, but could not have access to the slave-girls owned by his wife. Marriage between the master and his concubine was only possible if she was granted free status first. To avoid pregnancies, the master had the right to practice  coitus interruptus . The birth of progeny would change the legal status of the concubine to that of  umm al-walad  ("mother of the child"); as such, the concubine could not then be sold and her child would be seen as legitimate and free. On the (lawful) death of her master, she would automatically acquire free status. [ 64 ]


Sexual hygiene in Islam is a prominent topic in  Islamic  jurisprudence ( fiqh ) due to its everyday nature. After sexual intercourse or seminal discharge, individuals enter a state known as  junub  ( جنب ) meaning  ritually impure  due to sexual intercourse or seminal discharge.


This state prevents a person from offering  salat , and a person in such a state must perform a full-body  ablution  known as  ghusl  to regain the state of ritual purity necessary to once again perform  prayers , [ 65 ] [ 66 ]  or touching a copy of the Quran. [ 67 ]


During  Ramadan , sexual activity is only permitted at night. [ 68 ]  Although this passage is explicitly addressed to men, the regulations on sex in regard to fasting are universally taken to apply equally to both male and female Muslims. [ 69 ]


The Quran does not contain explicit text regarding contraception. Muslims refer to the hadith on the question of contraception. According to Muslim scholars, birth control is permitted, when it is temporary and for a valid reason. [ 70 ] [ 71 ]  As such, the withdrawal method of contraception— 'Azll —is allowed according to the hadith. Muslim jurists concur with its permissibility [ 72 ]  and use analogical deduction to approve other forms of contraception (e.g.,  condom  usage). [ 73 ]


Under normal circumstances, sterilization is not considered to be permitted in Shari’ah. The irreversible nature associated with both the male and female sterilizations contradicts one of the primary purposes of marriage which is to have children, as mentioned by  Abu Hamid al-Ghazali  in his  Ihya’ Ulum al-Din . Furthermore, sterilization is considered a form of self-mutilation ( muthla ), which is forbidden. [ 74 ]  While sterilization as a form of permanent contraception is primarily forbidden in Islam, sterilization is allowed for specific health indications such as uncontrolled diabetes, heart disease, or congenital abnormalities  incompatible with life . [ 8 ]  In such cases, patients may be sterilized after they have given their free, informed consent. [ 8 ]


As early as 1980, authoritative fatwas issued from Egypt's famed Al-Azhar University suggested that  in vitro fertilisation  (IVF) and similar technologies are permissible In Islam as long as they do not involve any form of third-party donation (of sperm, eggs, embryos, or uteruses). [ 75 ]


Intersex persons in Islam  are referred to as  khunthaa  in the books of Fiqh. [ 76 ]


An  intersex  person may have  sex characteristics  or  organs  that are not typically male or female. This person is called a  khunthaa  in the books of Fiqh. [ 76 ]  There are three types of  khunthaa :


1. A person has aspects of both organs and urinates from the male organ. This person will be included among the males, and the laws regarding males will fall on them.


2. The person urinates from the female organ, so they will be included among the females. The laws related to females will fall on this person. This applies before the person reaches maturity. After maturity, the person will be rechecked. If they experience wet dreams like a male, then they will be counted as male. On the other hand, if the person develops breasts and other signs of being female, then they will be included among the females.


3. When both masculine and feminine signs are equal and it cannot be determined whether the person is more male or more female, then such a person is termed  khunthaa mushkil . [ citation needed ]  There are different laws regarding such a person. It is not permissible for a  khunthaa mushkil  to wear silk and jewellery, as both of these are permissible for females, but because this person's condition cannot be ascertained, precaution demands that such a person not wear silk and jewellery because of the possibility that the person may be more male. Such a person cannot travel without a  mahram  because of the possibility of being more female.


Intersex medical interventions  are considered permissible to achieve agreement between a person's exterior,  chromosomal  make-up, or sex organs. They are regarded as treatment and not the altering of Allah's creation or imitation of the opposite sex. [ 77 ] [ 76 ]


There are varying scholarly views of  masturbation  ( Arabic :  استمناء ,  romanized :  istimnā’ ) in  Islam , largely because the Qur'an does not specifically mention the subject. Islamic scripture does not specifically mention masturbation. Like most people prior to the morals of the  Age of Enlightenment , pre-modern Islam faced masturbation mostly with indifference. [ 78 ]  A few  hadiths  underline this view, stating that "it is your fluid, or your member, so do whatever you like, as it were.". [ 78 ]  There are a few  hadiths  prohibiting masturbation but these are  classified as unreliable . [ 79 ]


Masturbation has nevertheless been considered  haram  or prohibited by many jurists historically, [ 80 ] [ 81 ]  though often with the caveat that it may be permissible if done out of necessity. For example, one scholar notably permitted masturbation as a means whereby soldiers, far away from their wives on a tour of duty might remain chaste. [ 82 ]  At the same time, in certain points in history, masturbation has also been considered among the great sins, [ 83 ]  and subject to discretionary punishments  ta'zir  under Islamic law, [ 84 ]  with stronger punishments in case of repeat offense. [ 85 ]  As such, positions on masturbation vary widely. [ 86 ]


The four  Sunni  schools of  jurisprudence  or  fiqh  ( Hanafi ,  Shafi'i ,  Maliki  and  Hanbali ), have differing stances on the issue. Some see it forbidden in certain cases (i.e. if it leads a man/woman to ignore their spouse sexually) but recommended it when they see it as a lesser evil to illicit sex. In the Maliki and Shafi'i schools, masturbation is typically fully prohibited, [ 87 ] [ 81 ]  while in the Hanafi and Hanbali schools, it is typically prohibited unless one spouse is unattainable and one fears adultery or fornication (i.e. in a state of extreme sexual desire), in which case, it is permissible to seek a relief through masturbation. [ 88 ] [ 89 ] [ 90 ] [ 91 ] [ 92 ] [ 93 ] [ c ] [ d ]


The Maliki and Shafi'i position stem from it being considered prohibited by both Imam  Malik ibn Anas  and Imam  Al-Shafi’i , the latter stating that verses in the Qur'an about guarding one's chastity and private parts applied to masturbation. [ 80 ] [ 81 ]  At the same, there is a minority opinion within the Maliki school that allows masturbation if done in private and without the use of illicit materials such as pornography and drugs. [ 96 ]  Some Hanbali jurists meanwhile also excuse that those under the desire pressure from not being married, and  Ahmad ibn Hanbal  also said it is permissible for prisoners, travellers and for men and women who have difficulty in finding a lawful spouse. [ 97 ] [ 81 ]  In Hanafi scholarship, a wife  manually stimulating  her husband is meanwhile disliked, but not prohibited, meaning it would be preferable not to do so but doing so will not incur sin. [ 98 ] [ 99 ] [ better source needed ]


In  Shia  jurisprudence, masturbation is generally considered prohibited, though there has always been a view to permit masturbation as the lesser of two evils (so as to ward off falling into fornication). [ 100 ]  Those jurists who permit masturbation in different cases distinguish between those who masturbate out of necessity and those who have these means yet still masturbate to gratify their lust. [ 86 ]   Ja'far as-Sadiq  also cited the Quran'ic verses on guarding one's chastity and private parts. [ 101 ] [ 102 ]  The modern Iranian jurist  Ali al-Sistani  has stated that masturbation, while emphasising that it is haram in all other circumstances, is permissible in case of medical necessity, provided there was no lawful means to achieve ejaculation. [ 103 ]


In  Sunni Islam ,  oral sex  between a husband and wife is considered "Makruh Tahrimi" [ 104 ]  or highly undesirable by some Islamic jurists when the act is defined as mouth and tongue coming in contact with the genitals. [ 105 ] [ 106 ]  The reason behind considering this act as not recommended is manifold, the foremost being the issue of modesty, purification ( Taharat ) and cleanliness. [ 107 ]  In  Twelver   Shia Islam , oral sex is permitted as long as  najasah  (impurity) is not consumed. [ 108 ]


The most common argument states [ 106 ]  that the mouth and tongue are used for recitation of the Quran and for the remembrance of Allah ( Dhikr ). [ 109 ]  The status of contact between genitals and mouth and genital secretions is also debated among the  four Sunni schools , some scholars viewing them as impure and others not.


Islamic schools of law have differing opinions on abortion, though it is prohibited or discouraged by most. [ 110 ]  However, abortion is allowed under certain circumstances, such as if the mother's health is threatened. If the abortion is necessary to save the woman's life, Muslims universally agree that her life takes precedence over the life of the fetus. [ 111 ]


Muslim views on abortion are also shaped by the  Hadith  as well as by the opinions of legal and religious scholars and commentators. In Islam, the fetus is believed to become a living soul after four months of gestation, [ 112 ]  and abortion after that point is generally viewed as impermissible. Many Islamic thinkers recognize exceptions to this rule for certain circumstances; indeed,  Azizah Y. al-Hibri  notes that "the majority of Muslim scholars permit abortion, although they differ on the stage of fetal development beyond which it becomes prohibited." [ 113 ]


Some Muslim scholars hold that the child of rape is a legitimate human being and therefore subject to the normal laws of abortion, that it is permitted only if the fetus is less than four months old, or if it endangers the life of its mother. [ 114 ]  Certain contemporary fatwas have also laid out the position that permit abortion if the newborn might suffer from a congenital condition that would make its care exceptionally difficult for the parents. [ 114 ]


According to Islamic tradition, gender can be divided into the following groups: male, female,  khunsa ,  mukhannis  (binary transgender), and  mukhannas  (non-binary transgender). [ 76 ]  According to the Iranian scholar Mehrdad Alipour, "in the premodern period, Muslim societies were aware of five manifestations of gender ambiguity: This can be seen through figures such as the khasi (eunuch), the hijra, the  mukhannath , the  mamsuh  and the  khuntha  (hermaphrodite/intersex)."


The Arabic term for a  trans woman  is  mukhannith , whereas the term for a  trans man  is  mutarajjilah . It is generally considered possible to change one's gender according to Islamic law, however, transition is linked to surgery. [ 115 ]  Since homosexuality is usually forbidden, some people seek out  sexual reassignment surgery  to change their gender status. [ 116 ]  Transgender identities usually work within the gender binary, although in some Classical Arabic literature,  gender identities deviating from the gender binary  have been discussed.


In Islamic literature, the plural term  mukhannatun  (مخنثون "effeminate ones", "men who resemble women", singular mukhannath) was a term used to describe gender-variant people, and refers to a person who behaves like a woman in gentleness, speech, appearance, movements and so on. [ 117 ] [ 118 ]  The  mukhannath  is to be distinguished from both the  khuntha  (intersex) and the eunuch (castrated). [ 76 ]  Any form of castration is strongly forbidden in Islam. [ 119 ]


A  hadith  from  collection of Bukhari  (compiled in the 9th century), is often used as example for the legal status of transgender people in general. It includes a report regarding  mukhannathun ,  who were granted access to secluded women's quarters and engaged in other non-normative gendered behavior: [ 120 ]  In  hadiths  attributed to Muhammad's wives, the  mukhannath  in question expressed his appreciation of a woman's body and described it for the benefit of another man. According to one  hadith , this incident was prompted by a  mukhannath  servant of Muhammad's wife Umm Salama commenting upon the body of a woman and following that, whereupon Muhammad cursed the  mukhannathun  and their female equivalents,  mutarajjilat  and ordered his followers to remove them from their homes. [ 121 ]


These  hadiths  have been used by some to oppose the legitimacy of transgender people in general and sometimes, to sanction surgery. [ 76 ]  However, this prohibition is not universal. Since Muhammad did not forbid the  mukhannatun  to enter woman's space at first, but only after this specific  mukhannath  abused his trust, these  hadiths  can be seen as validation of third-gender identities. [ 115 ]


Shia scholar   Ayatollah Khomeini , as affirmed by  Ayatollah Khameini , as well as various Sunni scholars, ruled out that "Sex-reassignment surgery is not prohibited in  shari'a law  if reliable medical doctors recommend it." [ 122 ]  Similarly, scholars from  Pakistan  agreed that transsexual people, who took sexual reassignment surgery, would be allowed to marry and be buried according to Islamic funeral law. [ 123 ]


Likewise, transgender identities beyond the binary spectrum have been discussed  and partly validated. Islamic literary sources mention a  mukhannath  named  Ṭuways , but never describe his sexuality or behavior as immoral. [ 120 ]   Al-Nawawi  and  al-Kirmani  distinguished  mukhannathun  into those whose feminine traits seem unchangeable, despite the person's best efforts to stop them, and those whose traits are changeable but refuse to stop. Only the latter ones are to blame.  Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani  stated that all  mukhannathun  must make an effort to cease their feminine behavior, but if this proved impossible, they were not worthy of punishment. Those who made no effort to become less "effeminate", or seemed to "take pleasure in (his effeminacy)", were worthy of blame.


Islam strictly prohibits  fahisha , an Arabic word commonly meaning lewdness and indecency. [ 124 ]   Salah  is supposed to prevent one from indecency ( fahisha ) and evil deeds ( munkar ). Jurists also recommend to abstain from acts inciting  zina  and to hold on  taqwa  (abstinence  from  Haram ) so that a solution must be gotten from God in reward according to Quran. [ e ] [ better source needed ]


According to Islamic laws made by  exegesis  of the Quran and the  hadiths , all sexual relationships except with a spouse (or a man's concubine) are considered  zinā  (fornication). [ 64 ]   Zina  must also be committed by a person of their own free will. [ 126 ]  According to  traditional jurisprudence ,  zina  can include  fornication , [ 127 ] [ 128 ] [ 129 ]   adultery , [ 127 ] [ 128 ] [ 129 ]   prostitution , [ 130 ]   rape , [ 126 ]   anal sex , [ 127 ] [ 131 ]   incest , [ 132 ] [ 133 ]  and  bestiality . [ 127 ] [ 134 ] [ 135 ]


According to Abdel Sabour Abdel Qawi Misry, prostitution in Islam is forbidden. [ 136 ]  Daz Austin Endshow says that, Qur'an says about prostitution that female slaves should not be forced into prostitution. [ 137 ] [ 138 ]  Islamic prophet Muhammad said: There is no prostitution in Islam. [ 137 ] [ 139 ]  The penalty for prostitution in Islam is one hundred lashes for the adulterer or adulteress. [ 136 ]  If a married man or woman is practicing prostitution, the punishment amounts to death by  stoning . [ 136 ]  Despite the severity of the punishments, Islam has established laws that make the practice of punishment against perpetrators of prostitution extremely difficult, as it is required to punish the practitioner of prostitution that he personally confess. [ 136 ]  By engaging in it, or that there are four witnesses who witnessed the act of having sex, provided that the adulterer has a clear vision beyond doubt, provided that part of his penis (the glans or more) is absent in the adulteress’s vagina, and that none of the four witnesses retract his testimony, otherwise the remaining three or less will become guilty. [ 136 ]  On charges of slandering a man and a woman, the punishment for slander is imposed on them. Islam also imposes strict punishments on those who accuse chaste women of engaging in prostitution without conclusive evidence, namely four witnesses. [ 136 ]


Rape is considered a serious sexual crime in Islam, and can be defined in Islamic law as: "Forcible illegal sexual intercourse by a man with a woman who is not legally married to him, without her free will and consent". [ 140 ]


Classical Islamic law defined what today is commonly called "rape" as a coercive form of fornication or adultery ( zināʾ ). [ 141 ]  This basic definition of rape as "coercive  zināʾ " meant that all the normal legal principles that pertained to  zināʾ —its definition, punishment and establishment through evidence—were also applicable to rape; the prototypical act of  zināʾ  was defined as sexual intercourse between a man and a woman over whom the man has neither a conjugal nor an ownership right. [ 141 ]   Zināʾ  was established, according to classical law, through confession by one or both parties as well as proof. A second type of evidence—pregnancy in an unmarried/unowned woman—was contested between the schools. The stringent evidentiary and procedural standards for implementing the zināʾ punishment may have functioned to offset the severity of the punishment itself, an effect that seems to have been intended by legal authorities, who in the early period developed legal maxims encouraging averting the ḥadd punishments as much as possible, whether through claiming ambiguity (shubhah) or a lack of legal capacity (ahliyya). [ 141 ]


The requirements for proof of rape, by contrast, are less stringent, and do not require any extraneous witness testimony, eyewitness or otherwise:


Rape charges can be brought and a case proven based on the sole testimony of the victim, providing that circumstantial evidence supports the allegations. It is these strict criteria of proof which lead to the frequent observation that where injustice against women does occur, it is not because of Islamic law. It happens either due to misinterpretation of the intricacies of the Sharia laws governing these matters, or cultural traditions; or due to corruption and blatant disregard of the law, or indeed some combination of these phenomena. [ 142 ]


Caliph Umar accepted the testimony of a single individual who heard the rape victim call for help as evidence that rape occurred. Imam Malik accepted physical injuries on the victim as evidence that rape occurred. [ 143 ]  If a woman claims to have been raped or sexually abused under duress, she will be acquitted of adultery in light of Qur'anic verse 24:33, which states that a woman has not sinned when compelled to commit this crime. [ 144 ]


According to Professor  Oliver Leaman , the required testimony of four male  witnesses  who  eyewitnessed  the actual penetration applies only to consensual illicit sexual relations (whether adultery or fornication), not to the non-consensual crime of rape. [ 142 ]


What distinguished a prototypical act of zināʾ from an act of rape, for the jurists, was that in the prototypical case, both parties act out of their own volition, while in an act of rape, only one of the parties does so. Jurists admitted a wide array of situations as being "coercive" in nature, including the application of physical force, the presence of duress, or the threat of future harm either to oneself or those close to oneself; they also included in their definition of "coercion" the inability to give valid consent, as in the case of minors, mentally ill, or unconscious persons. Muslim jurists from the earliest period of Islamic law agreed that perpetrators of coercive  zināʾ  should receive the  ḥadd  punishment normally applicable to their personal status and sexual status, but that the ḥadd punishment should not be applied to victims of coercive or nonconsensual  zināʾ  due to their reduced capacity. [ 141 ]


Marriage is not allowed between most relatives with whom relations would typically considered incestuous, including a man marrying his mother, daughter, sister, aunt, niece or mother-in-law. However  cousin marriages  are not prohibited and are widely practiced [ 145 ]  throughout many parts of the  Islamic World , as they are not considered  mahrams , or direct relatives. Other prohibited marriages include step-children born of a spouse whom the individual has consummated the marriage with, or multiple sisters from the same family. [ 59 ]  Incestuous relationships in Islam ( zinā bi'l-mahārim ) are those with any of a person's  mahram , a definition of nuclear and extended family derived from the hadith. [ 146 ] [ 147 ]


All Sunni Muslim jurists agree that anal sex is haram (prohibited), based on the hadith of Muhammad. [ 148 ]  In contrast, according to Twelver Shia Muslim jurists, anal sex is considered  makruh  (strongly disliked) but is permissible with the consent of the wife. [ 149 ]


Many scholars point to the story of  Lot  in the Quran as an example of sodomy being an egregious sin. However multiple others hold the view that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was not specifically due to the sodomy practiced in those towns, but as a combination of multiple transgressions. The death by stoning for people of Sodom and Gomorrah is similar to the stoning punishment stipulated for illegal heterosexual sex. There is no punishment for a man who sodomizes a woman because it is not tied to procreation. However, other jurists insist that any act of lust in which the result is the injecting of semen into another person constitutes sexual intercourse. [ 64 ]


Sodomy often falls under that same category as sex between an unmarried man and woman. Male-male intercourse is referred to as  liwat  while female-female intercourse is referred to as  sihaq . Both are considered reprehensible acts but there is no consensus on punishment for either. Some jurists define  zināʾ  exclusively as the act of unlawful vaginal penetration, hence categorizing and punishing anal penetration in different ways. Other jurists included both vaginal and anal penetration within the definition of  zināʾ  and hence extended the punishment of the one to the other. [ 150 ]


Religious discourse has mostly focused on such sexual acts, which are unambiguously condemned. The Quran refers explicitly to male-male sexual relations only in the context of the story of Lot, but labels the Sodomites' actions (universally understood in the later tradition as anal intercourse) an "abomination" (female-female relations are not addressed). Reported pronouncements by Muhammad ( hadith ) reinforce the interdiction on male-male sodomy, although there are no reports of his ever adjudicating an actual case of such an offence; he is also quoted as condemning cross-gender behaviour for both sexes and banishing them from local places, but it is unclear to what extent this is to be understood as involving sexual relations. Several early caliphs, confronted with cases of sodomy between males, are said to have had both partners executed, by a variety of means. While taking such precedents into account, medieval jurists were unable to achieve a consensus on this issue; some legal schools prescribed capital punishment for sodomy, but others opted only for a relatively mild discretionary punishment. There was general agreement, however, that other homosexual acts (including any between females) were lesser offences, subject only to discretionary punishment. [ 151 ]


The Quran strictly prohibits  homosexuality  through the story of  Lot  (also in the Biblical  Book of Genesis ), in  Surat Al-Nisa ,  Surat Al-A'raf , and possibly verses in other surahs. [ 152 ] [ 153 ] [ 154 ]  For example, Abu Dawud states, [ 153 ] [ 155 ]   Al-Nuwayri  (1272–1332) in his  Nihaya  reports that Muhammad is "alleged to have said what he feared most for his community were the practices of the people of Lot." [ 156 ]  Classical Islamic jurists did not deal with homosexuality as a sexual orientation, since the latter concept is modern and has no equivalent in traditional law, which dealt with it under the technical terms of liwat and zina. [ 157 ]  Most legal schools treat homosexual intercourse with penetration similarly to unlawful heterosexual intercourse under the rubric of zina, but there are differences of opinion with respect to methods of punishment.


There is disagreement over what punishments should be administered according to the above Quranic and prophetic orders. [ 158 ]  Early  caliphs  were known to have had both of the male partners executed in various ways. [ 151 ]  Some other jurists believe that there is no punishment that will serve as an effective purgative for this act, and therefore its immorality precludes an earthly punishment. [ 158 ]  Some jurists are so morally offended by homosexuality that just the discussion around it is cause for excommunication and anathematizing. [ 158 ]


The discourse on homosexuality in Islam is primarily concerned with activities between men. There are, however, a few hadith mentioning homosexual behaviour in women. [ 159 ] [ 160 ]  Although punishment for lesbianism is rarely mentioned in the histories,  al-Tabari  records an example of the casual execution of a pair of lesbian slavegirls in the  harem  of  al-Hadi , in a collection of highly critical anecdotes pertaining to that Caliph's actions as ruler. [ 161 ]  Some jurists viewed sexual intercourse as possible only for an individual who possesses a  phallus ; [ 150 ]  hence those definitions of sexual intercourse that rely on the entry of as little of the  corona of the phallus  into a partner's orifice. [ 150 ]  Since women do not possess a phallus and cannot have intercourse with one another, they are, in this interpretation, physically incapable of committing  zinā . [ 150 ]


According to Muslim tradition Islamic prophet  Muhammad  forbade  castration . Muhammad told a follower who asked for permission to castrate himself to avoid the temptation to fornicate, "He who castrates himself or another does not belong to my followers, for castration in Islam may consist only in fasting." [ 162 ]  This hadith is in the context of another, which encourages men who are unable to get married and struggle with chastity and desires to resort to  fasting , as this helps with lowering  libido . [ 163 ]


And compel not your slave-girls to prostitution when they desire to keep chaste, in order to seek the frail goods of this world's life. And whoever compels them, then surely after their compulsion Allah is Forgiving, Merciful..


Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas, the Prophet said: There is no prostitution in Islam. If anyone practised prostitution in pre-Islamic times, the child will be attributed to the master (of the slave-woman). He who claims his child without a valid marriage or ownership will neither inherit nor be inherited.


The  jus trium liberorum  (Latin, "the right of three children"; also spelled  ius ), [ 1 ]  was a privilege awarded to Roman citizens who had produced at least three children or to freedpersons who had produced at least four. [ 2 ]  The privilege resulted from the  Lex Papia Poppaea  and other  legislation on morality  introduced by  Augustus  in the first centuries BC and AD. [ 3 ]  These laws were intended to increase the dwindling population of the Roman upper classes.


The intent of the  jus trium liberorum  has been interpreted by a few scholars as  eugenic  legislation, [ 4 ]  but the predominant view is that it was intended to increase birth rates among the senatorial order. [ 5 ]  Men who had received the  jus trium liberorum  were excused from  munera  (compulsory services). Women with  jus trium liberorum  were no longer subject to  tutela mulierum  (guardianship by a male relative) and could receive inheritances which would otherwise descend to their children. [ 6 ]


The senatorial reaction to the  jus trium liberorum  was largely to find loopholes, however. The prospect of having a large family was still not appealing. [ 7 ]  A person who caught a citizen in violation in this law was entitled to a portion of the inheritance involved, creating a lucrative business for professional spies. [ 8 ]  The spies became so pervasive that the reward was reduced to a quarter of its previous size. [ 9 ]  As time went on, the  jus trium liberorum  was granted by  consuls  to some citizens as rewards for general good deeds, holding important professions or as personal favors, not just prolific propagation. [ 10 ]  Eventually the  jus trium liberorum  was repealed in 534 AD by  Justinian . [ 11 ]


During the Augustan period the upper classes, the senatorial and equestrian orders, were diminishing in number. These classes formed the backbone of the state, forming the empire's civil and military administration. The classes’ populations had been affected by the recent civil wars,  proscription , and most importantly, low birth rates within the classes. The decrease in birth rate was even more dramatic than is typical for the increase in Rome's development. [ 12 ]  The  leges Iulia  and  Papia Poppaea  had been able to increase marriage rates within the upper classes, but the birthrate had not increased enough through these bodies of legislation alone. For this reason the  jus trium liberorum  was enacted. [ 13 ]


At the time, Italy's population as a whole was not decreasing and may have been increasing. The growth in population was largely due to the influx of slaves from outside of Italy. The  jus trium liberorum , therefore, has been called a eugenic measure by scholars as it specifically worked toward increasing a specific population deemed desirable. [ 14 ]  It is argued that the aspect of population growth in the  jus trium liberorum  was a secondary intention. [ 15 ]


The  jus trium liberorum  was a reward gained by compliance with the  leges Iulia  and  Papia Poppea . The privilege concerned both sexes, but impacted women more than men. The specifics of the  jus trium liberorum  is defined as follows in Adolf Berger's  Encyclopedia of Roman Law :


Fathers might claim exemption ( excusatio ) from public charges and from guardianship to which they were called by law ( tutela legitima ). The most important application of  jus liberorum  concerned women. A freeborn woman with three children and a freedwoman with four children ( jus trium vel quattuor liberorum ) were freed from guardianship to which women were subject ( tutela mulierum ) and had a right of succession to the inheritance of their children. The women’s  jus liberorum  was applied even when the children were no longer alive. [ 16 ]


In short this meant that a man could not be forced to take over the obligation of guardianship of a woman, legally a minor, that he would otherwise be obligated under the  tutela mulierum . [ 17 ]  Women who had the appropriate number of children no longer needed to have a guardian as they would under the  tutela mulierum.  This meant that when a woman was no longer subject to the power of her father ( patria potestas ) or her husband ( manus ) she could act independently. [ 18 ]  She also gained the right to inheritance that would have otherwise been awarded to her children. Often this meant that she inherited and owned her husband's estate upon his death. [ 19 ]
As stated above children did not need to be alive for them to count toward the  jus liberorum . Legitimate children were counted for men and women. Children born to an unknown father ( spurius ) did count toward a woman's number of children under the  jus trium liberorum. [ 20 ]  A child considered to be  a portentum  (literally a monster or monstrous being [ 21 ] ) was not considered to be a human but still counted toward the mother's number of children under the  jus trium liberorum . Both parents could count a child deemed  a portentum  under the laws against childless parents in the  leges Iulia  and  Papia Poppaea , however. [ 22 ]


After being enacted this right was considered valuable, but it soon became a privilege unconnected with three or more births to a citizen. Many people did not want the burden of children, but still sought the  jus trium liberorum . This enticed many people to exploit loopholes in the law, which was often accomplished through illegal means. A reward consisting of a percentage of the inheritance involved was offered for spies who caught others illegally benefitting from the  jus trium liberorum . This reward created a large number of spies due to the lucrative rewards. To reduce the problem of spies the reward was then reduced to a quarter of its previous size. [ 23 ]
The  jus trium liberorum  was also awarded to people in no connection with their number of offspring as a reward by the emperor. Often it was awarded in connection with a good deed, military service or as a personal favor. [ 24 ]  Many famous Romans were awarded the  jus trium liberorum  including  Suetonius  through a personal favor from  Trajan  to  Pliny the Younger , [ 25 ]   Martial  by  Domitian  in reward to Martial's flattery, [ 26 ]  and to  Livia  in response of the death of  Drusus  in 9 BC. [ 27 ]  Owners of large ships were also granted the  jus trium liberorum  under the Empire. [ 28 ]
The  jus trium liberorum  was eventually repealed by  Justinian  in 534 AD. [ 29 ]


Final solution


Parties


Lebensborn  e.V.  (literally: "Fount of Life") was a secret,  SS -initiated,  state -registered association in  Nazi Germany  with the stated goal of increasing the number of children born who met the Nazi standards of "racially pure" and "healthy"  Aryans , based on  Nazi eugenics  (also called " racial hygiene " by some  eugenicists ).  Lebensborn  was established by  Heinrich Himmler , and provided welfare to its mostly unmarried mothers, encouraged anonymous births by unmarried women at their maternity homes, and mediated  adoption  of children by likewise "racially pure" and "healthy" parents, particularly SS members and their families. The  Cross of Honour of the German Mother  was given to the women who bore the most  Aryan  children.  Abortion  was legalized (and, more commonly, endorsed) by the Nazis for disabled and non- Germanic  children, but strictly punished otherwise.


Set up in Germany in 1935,  Lebensborn  expanded into several occupied European countries with  Germanic populations  during the  World War II . It included the selection of "racially worthy" orphans for adoption and care for children born from Aryan women who had been in relationships with SS members. It originally excluded children born from unions between common soldiers and foreign women, because there was no proof of " racial purity " on both sides. During the war, many children were kidnapped from their parents and judged by Aryan criteria for their suitability to be raised in  Lebensborn  homes, and fostered by German families.


At the  Nuremberg trials , much direct evidence was found of the  kidnapping of children by Nazi Germany  during the period 1939–1945.


The  Lebensborn e.V.  (e.V. stands for  eingetragener Verein  or registered association), meaning "fount of life", was founded on 12 December 1935, [ 1 ]  to counteract falling birth rates in  Germany , and to promote  Nazi eugenics . [ 2 ]  Located in  Munich , the organization was partly an office within the  Schutzstaffel  (SS) responsible for certain family welfare programs, and partly a society for Nazi leaders. [ citation needed ]


On 13 September 1936,  Heinrich Himmler  wrote the following to members of the SS:


The organisation "Lebensborn e.V." serves the SS leaders in the selection and adoption of qualified children. The organisation "Lebensborn e.V." is under my personal direction, is part of the Race and Settlement Central Bureau of the SS, and has the following obligations:


It is the honorable duty of all leaders of the central bureau to become members of the organisation "Lebensborn e.V.". The application for admission must be filed prior to 23 September 1936. [ 3 ]


In 1939, membership stood at 8,000, of which 3,500 were SS leaders. [ 4 ]
The  Lebensborn  office was part of  SS Rasse und Siedlungshauptamt  ( SS Race and Settlement Main Office ) until 1938, when it was transferred to  Hauptamt Persönlicher Stab Reichsführer-SS  ( Personal Staff of the  Reichführer -SS ), i.e. directly overseen by Himmler. Leaders of  Lebensborn e. V.  were  SS- Standartenführer   Max Sollmann  [ de ]  and  SS- Oberführer  Dr.  Gregor Ebner . [ citation needed ]


Initially the programme served as a welfare institution for wives of SS officers; the organization ran facilities – primarily  maternity homes  – where women could give birth or get help with family matters. The programme also accepted unmarried women who were either pregnant or had already given birth and were in need of aid, provided that both the woman and the father of the child were classified as "racially valuable".  About 60% of the mothers were unmarried. The program allowed them to give birth secretly away from home without  social stigma . In case the mothers wanted to give up the children, the program also had orphanages and an adoption service. [ 5 ]  When dealing with non-SS members, parents and children were usually examined by SS doctors before admission.


The first  Lebensborn  home (known as "Heim Hochland") opened in 1936, in  Steinhöring , a tiny village not far from Munich. The first home outside of Germany opened in  Norway  in 1941. Many of these facilities were established in confiscated houses and former  nursing homes  owned by Jews. [ 2 ]  Leaders of the  League of German Girls  were instructed to recruit young women with the potential to become good breeding partners for SS officers. [ 6 ]


While  Lebensborn e. V.  established facilities in several occupied countries, its activities were concentrated around Germany, Norway and occupied  northeastern Europe , mainly  Poland . The main focus in  occupied Norway  was aiding children born to Norwegian women and fathered by German soldiers. In northeastern Europe the organisation, in addition to services provided to SS members, engaged in the transfer of children, mostly orphans, to families in Germany. [ citation needed ]


Lebensborn e. V.  had or planned to have facilities in the following countries (some were merely field offices):


About 8,000 children were born in  Lebensborn  homes in Germany, and between 8,000 and 12,000 children in Norway. [ 8 ]  Elsewhere the total number of births was much lower. [ 8 ]


In Norway the  Lebensborn  organisation handled approximately 250 adoptions. In most of these cases the mothers had agreed to the adoption, but not all were informed that their children would be  sent to Germany for adoption . The Norwegian government recovered only 170 of these children after the war. [ citation needed ]


In 1939, the Nazis started to kidnap children from foreign countries – mainly from  Yugoslavia  and  Poland , but also  Russia ,  Ukraine ,  Czechoslovakia ,  Romania ,  Estonia ,  Latvia , and  Norway [ 9 ]  –  for the  Lebensborn  program. They started to do this because "It is our duty to take [the children] with us to remove them from their environment ... either we win over any good blood that we can use for ourselves and give it a place in our people or we destroy this blood," Himmler reportedly said. [ 10 ]


The Nazis would seize children in full view of the parents. The kidnapped children were administered several tests and were categorised into three groups:


The children classified as unwanted were taken to  concentration camps  to work or were killed. The children from the other groups, if between the ages of 2 and 6, were placed with families in the programme to be brought up by them in a kind of  foster child  status. Children of ages 6 to 12 were placed in German  boarding schools . The schools assigned the children new German names and taught them to be proud to be part of Germany. They forced the children to forget their birth parents and erased any records of their ancestry. Those who resisted  Germanisation  were beaten and, if a child continued to rebel, he or she would be sent to a concentration camp. [ 11 ]


In the final stages of the war, the files of all children kidnapped for the programme were destroyed. As a result, researchers have found it nearly impossible to learn how many children were taken. The Polish government has claimed that 10,000 children were kidnapped, and less than 15% were returned to their biological parents. [ 10 ]  Other estimates include numbers as high as 200,000, although according to  Dirk Moses  a more likely number is around 20,000. [ 12 ]


After the war, the branch of the  Lebensborn  organisation operating in north-eastern Europe was accused of kidnapping children deemed "racially valuable" in order to resettle them with German families. However, of approximately 10,000 foreign-born children located after the war in the American-controlled area of Germany,  in the trial  of the leaders of the  Lebensborn  organisation ( United States of America v. Ulrich Greifelt, et al. ), the court found that 340 had been handled by  Lebensborn e. V.  The accused were acquitted on charges of kidnapping. [ citation needed ]


The court found ample evidence of an existing programme of the kidnapping or forced movement of children in north-eastern Europe, but concluded that these activities were carried out by individuals who were not members of  Lebensborn . Exactly how many children were moved by  Lebensborn  or other organisations remains unknown due to the destruction of archives by SS members prior to fleeing the advancing Allied forces. [ citation needed ]


From the trial's transcript: [ 13 ]


The prosecution has failed to prove with the requisite certainty the participation of  Lebensborn , and the defendants connected there with in the kidnapping programme conducted by the Nazis. While the evidence has disclosed that thousands upon thousands of children were unquestionably kidnapped by other agencies or organisations and brought into Germany, the evidence has further disclosed that only a small percentage of the total number ever found their way into  Lebensborn . And of this number only in isolated instances did  Lebensborn  take children who had a living parent. The majority of those children in any way connected with  Lebensborn  were orphans of ethnic Germans.
Upon the evidence submitted, the defendant Sollmann is found not guilty on counts one and two of the indictment.


After Germany's surrender, the press reported on the unusually good weight and health of the "super babies". They spent time outdoors in sunlight and received two baths a day. Everything that came into contact with the babies was disinfected first. Nurses ensured that the children ate everything given to them. [ 14 ]  Until the last days of the war, the mothers and the children at maternity homes got the best treatment available, including food, although others in the area were starving. Once the war ended, local communities often took revenge on the women, beating them, cutting off their hair, and running them out of the community. Many  Lebensborn  children were born to unwed mothers. After the war,  Lebensborn  survivors were often subjected to ostracization. [ citation needed ]


Himmler's effort to secure a "racially pure"  Greater Germany , sloppy  journalism  on the subject, as well as Nazi ideology retained by some, led to persistent false assumptions about the programme. The main misconception was that the programme involved coercive breeding. The first stories reporting that  Lebensborn  was a coercive breeding programme can be found in the German magazine  Revue , which ran a series on the subject in the 1950s. [ citation needed ]


The programme did intend to promote the growth of Aryan populations, through encouraging  relationships  between German soldiers and Nordic women in occupied countries. Access to  Lebensborn  was restricted in accordance with the  Nordicist  eugenic and racial policies of  Nazism , which could be referred to as supervised  selective breeding .  Recently discovered records and ongoing testimony of  Lebensborn  children – and some of their parents – shows that some SS men did sire children in Himmler's  Lebensborn  program. [ 15 ]  This was widely rumored within Germany during the period of the programme. [ 16 ]


In Norway, children born to Norwegian mothers by German fathers were allegedly often bullied, raped, abused, and persecuted by the government after the war, and placed in mental institutions. The Norwegian government attempted to deport  Lebensborn  children to Germany,  Brazil , and  Australia  but did not succeed. A group of  Lebensborn  children sought compensation from the Norwegian government, which they saw as being complicit in their mistreatment. In 2008, their case before the  European Court of Human Rights  was dismissed as the events had happened too long ago, but they were each offered an £8,000 payment from the Norwegian government. [ 17 ]


ABBA  member  Anni-Frid Lyngstad  had a German soldier father and although not a part of the Lebensborn program, she and her family faced the same retributions in post war Norway.  They escaped persecution when Anni-Frid's maternal grandmother took her to  Sweden . Lyngstad grew up believing her father had died in the war, before her birth and she only discovered he was still alive in the late 1970's.  She met him but after initial happiness, found it difficult to bond with him after so much time. [ 18 ] [ 19 ] [ 20 ]


In November 2006, in the German town of  Wernigerode , an open meeting took place among several  Lebensborn  children, with the intention of dispelling myths and encouraging those affected to investigate their origins. [ 21 ] [ 22 ]


General documents on  Lebensborn  activities are administered by  International Tracing Service  and by  German Federal Archives . [ 23 ]  The association  Verein kriegskind.de  is among those that published search efforts ( Suchbitten ) to identify  Lebensborn  children. [ 24 ]


Several of the surviving  Lebensborn  children appeared in  Wars Don't End , a 2018 documentary film directed by Dheeraj Akolkar and narrated by  Liv Ullmann . [ 25 ]


The Czech TV film  Spring of Life  (2000) tells the story of a  Sudeten German  teenager recruited as a future mother into a Lebensborn in Poland. [ 26 ]


In the television series,  The Man in the High Castle , Joe Blake and Nicole Dörmer are among several characters who were Lebensborn children. [ 27 ]


The video game  My Child Lebensborn , which won the  BAFTA Games Awards  in 2018 for "Game Beyond Entertainment", [ 28 ]  lets players experience the bullying Lebensborn children went through after the war. [ 29 ] [ 30 ]


In the novel and film  Sophie's Choice , Sophie unsuccessfully attempts to place her son in the Lebensborn program. [ 31 ]


A  lex Julia  (plural:  leges Juliae ) was an ancient Roman law that was introduced by any member of the  gens Julia . Most often, "Julian laws",  lex Julia  or  leges Juliae  refer to moral legislation introduced by  Augustus  in 23 BC, or to a law related to  Julius Caesar .


During the  Social War , a conflict between the Italians and the Romans over the withholding of Italian citizenship, the consul  Lucius Julius Caesar  passed a law to grant all Italians not under arms citizenship. [ 1 ] [ 2 ]


At the instruction of the Senate, Lucius Caesar proposed a law providing that each Italian community would decide as to whether they would take Roman citizenship and establish new tribes – possibly eight – in the  Tribal Assembly  for the new citizens. This grant to citizenship had the effect of almost tripling the number of Roman citizens and annexing large swathes of Italy into the republic proper. [ 3 ]  The offer would be open to all Italian towns which were not under arms or who would lay those arms down within a short period. [ 2 ]


The main purpose of the law was to prevent those who had not risen up against Roman rule from doing so. It also had the effect of weakening the Italian war effort by making acceptable compromises. [ 4 ]  The next year, the Romans introduced the  lex Plautia Papiria de civitate , granting citizenship to more allies under rebellion – the main exceptions were the  Samnites  and  Lucanians  – in an attempt to further stem rebellion. [ 5 ]


Julius Caesar  passed two pieces of agrarian legislation in 59 BC during his first consulship. They were two pieces of related legislation: a  lex Julia agraria  and a  lex Julia de agro Campano . [ 6 ]  The first law was related to the distribution of public (both existing and  purchased from willing sellers) lands to the urban poor and  Pompey 's veterans; the latter added public lands in  Campania  for distribution. [ 7 ]


The passage of the first law was troubled. Caesar started his consulship by introducing it; it immediately met a  filibuster  from  Cato the Younger . [ 8 ]  After being blocked in the senate, Caesar brought the bill before the popular assemblies. [ 9 ]  Inviting  Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus , his co-consul and political opponent, to debate the bill, he won a political victory when he forced Bibulus to admit that he had few reasons for opposing the bill while publicly expressing senseless and obstinate opposition: "You will not have this law this year, not even should you all want it!". [ 10 ]  With the support of  Pompey  and  Crassus , two influential senators with which Caesar was cooperating in a then- secret alliance , popular support for the bill grew. [ 11 ]  Bibulus resorted instead to obstruction tactics by declaring negative omens on every day the bill could be voted on; one day, when moving to declare those omens, he – along with his political ally Cato – was attacked in the street by a mob (almost certainly organised by Caesar and his allies), forcing him to return home. In the absence of an announcement of negative omens, Caesar carried the bill in the assembly. [ 12 ]


Added to the law was then the requirement that senators swear an oath to uphold the law. Cato and an  ally  refused until intercession by  Cicero , arguing that it would be better for Rome if Cato swore and remained than withdrew to exile. [ 13 ]  In the face of obstructive tactics from Cato's allies, Caesar brought the bill expanding the public lands subject to redistribution straight to the assembly, bypassing the senate. [ 13 ]


The  lex Julia de repetundis , also called the  lex Julia repetundarum , [ 14 ]  was passed by  Gaius Julius Caesar  during his first consulship in 59 BC. It was a major piece of legislation containing over 100 clauses which dealt with a large number of provincial abuses, provided procedures for enforcement, and punishment for violations. [ 15 ] [ 16 ]


Among other things, it: [ 17 ]


The law also expanded regulations on all kinds of public actions, including corruption before the permanent courts, the senate, and public contracts (especially as to public works and grain). [ 19 ]  It also banned the owning of ships by senators. [ 16 ]


While it extended to judicial corruption, "Caesar was prudent" [ 20 ]  in keeping away from the "political hot potato" [ 21 ]  that was anti-bribery legislation applied to the  equites  – diverse men including Cato and Pompey had previously tried and failed in passing such legislation. [ 20 ] [ 22 ] [ 23 ]  However, Caesar cooperated with an ally in introducing legislation to record the votes of the jury panels (senators,  equites , and  tribuni aerarii ) separately, which "imposed a degree of indirect accountability without violating the secrecy of the individual verdict". [ 24 ]


It was passed with little dissent, receiving "high praise from [Caesar's] contemporaries". [ 25 ]  Many senators contributed to it, [ 20 ]  including Cato, who may have proposed the addition of some regulations against extortion of provincial towns. [ 26 ]


For centuries, the law remained "the basis of the Roman law of provincial administration". [ 23 ]


This law may have set regulations for Italian municipalities. The question of whether Julius Caesar was responsible for this law is "fiercely debated". [ 27 ]


Under Augustus, the  leges Juliae  of 18–17 BC attempted to elevate both the morals and the numbers of the upper classes in Rome and to increase the population by encouraging marriage and having children ( lex Julia de maritandis ordinibus ). [ 28 ]  They also established  adultery  as a private and public crime ( lex Julia de adulteriis ).


To encourage population expansion, the  leges Juliae  offered inducements to marriage and imposed penalties upon the  celibate . Augustus instituted the "Law of the three sons" which held those in high regard who produced three male [ 29 ]  offspring. Marrying-age celibates and young widows who would not marry were prohibited from receiving inheritances and from attending public games.


The extracts below are from later legal codes and textbooks, but are also valuable in the sense that they are based on, and frequently quote from, the actual text of Augustus' laws.


As written down by  Ulpian


Under the rule of  Emperor Justinian


The  Lex Papia et Poppaea , also referred to as the  Lex Iulia et Papia , was a Roman law introduced in 9 AD to encourage and strengthen  marriage .  It included provisions against  adultery  and against  celibacy  after a certain age and complemented and supplemented  Augustus '  Lex Iulia de maritandis ordinibus   of 18 BC and the  Lex Iulia de adulteriis coercendis  of 17 BC.  The law was introduced by the  suffect   consuls  of that year,  Marcus Papius Mutilus  and  Quintus Poppaeus Secundus , although they themselves were unmarried.


Tacitus  mentions several  leges Iuliae  (Julian Laws) pertaining to morals and marriage, and the  Lex Papia Poppaea  as a separate later law, refining the Julian Laws ( Annals , 3.25)


Some writers conclude from the passage in  Suetonius  (Suet. Aug. 14) that the  Lex Julia de maritandis ordinibus  of 18/17 BC was rejected, and add that it was not enacted until 4 AD. In the year 9 AD, and in the  consulship  of Marcus Papius Mutilus and  Quintus Poppaeus Secundus  (consules suffecti), another law was passed as a kind of amendment and supplement to the former law, and hence arose the title of  Lex Julia et Papia Poppaea  by which these two laws are often quoted. It has been inferred from the two laws being separately cited that they were not made into one.


The 6th-century  Digest  only mentions the  Lex Julia de maritandis ordinibus  (Dig. 38 tit.11; Dig. 23 tit.2).


Various titles are used according as reference is made to the various provisions; sometimes the reference is to the  Lex Julia , sometimes  Papia Poppaea , sometimes  Lex Julia et Papia , sometimes  Lex de maritandis ordinibus , from the chapter which treated of the marriages of the  senators  ( Gaius , i.178;  Ulp.  Frag. xi.20; Lex Marita, Hor. Carm. Sec.), sometimes  Lex Caducaria ,  Decimaria , etc. from the various chapters (Ulp. Frag. xxviii tit.7;  Dion Cass . liv.16, lvi.1, &c.;  Tacit.  Ann. iii.25). ( see References )


There were many commentaries on these laws or on this law by the Roman jurists, of which considerable fragments are preserved in the  Digest : Gaius wrote 15 books, Ulpian 20, and  Paulus  10 books at least on this law. The law contained at least 35 chapters (Dig. 22 tit.2 s19); but it is impossible to say to which of the two laws included under the general title of  Lex Julia et Papia Poppaea , the several provisions as now known to us, belong. Attempts have been made both by J. Gothofredus and  Heineccius  to restore the law, on the assumption that its provisions are reducible to the two general heads of a  Lex Maritalis  and  Lex Caducaria .


The provisions of these laws forbade the marriage of a senator or a senator's sons with a  manumitted slave   ( libertina ) ; with a woman whose profession made her  infamis , such as a stage performer; or with a  prostitute . A senator's daughter could not marry a  libertinus .


If an  hereditas  or a  legatum  ( inheritance ) was left to a person on condition of not marrying, or on conditions which in effect prevented marriage, the conditions were illegal, and the gift was unconditional. The condition, however, might be not to marry a certain specified person or certain specified persons; or it might be to marry a particular person, but then the person must be such a one as would be a suitable match, otherwise the condition would be, in effect, a condition not to marry, and therefore void (Dig.35 tit.1 s63).


In order to  promote marriage , various penalties were imposed on those who lived in a state of  celibacy  after a certain age.    Caelibes  could not take an hereditas or a legacy ( legatum ); but if a person was  caelebs  at the time of the testator's death, and was not otherwise disqualified ( jure civili ), he might take the  hereditas  or  legatum , if he obeyed the law within one hundred days, that is, if he married within that time (Ulp. Frag. xvii.1).


If he did not comply with the law, the gift became  caducum  (subject to  escheat ). The  Lex Julia  allowed widows a term of one year ( vacatio ) from the death of a husband, and divorced women a term ( vacatio ) of six months from the time of the divorce, within which periods they were not subject to the penalties of the lex: the  Lex Papia  extended these periods respectively to two years, and a year and six months (Ulp. Frag. xiv).


A man, when he attained the age of sixty, and a woman, when she attained the age of fifty, were not included within certain penalties of the law (Ulp. Frag. xvi); but if they had not obeyed the law before attaining those respective ages, they were perpetually bound by its penalties by a  Senatus-consultum Pernicianum . A  Senatus-consultum Claudianum  so far modified the strictness of the new rule as to give a man who married above sixty the same advantage that he would have had if had married under sixty, provided he married a woman who was under fifty; the ground of which rule was the legal notion that a woman under fifty was still capable of having children (Ulpian, Frag. xvi; Sueton. Claud. 23). If the woman was above fifty and the man under sixty, this was called  Impar Matrimonium , and by a  Senatus-consultum Calvitianum  it was entirely without effect as to releasing from incapacity to take  legata  and  dotes . On the death of the woman, therefore, the  dos  became  caduca .


By the  Lex Papia Poppaea  a candidate who had several children was preferred to one who had fewer (Tacit. Ann. xv.19;  Plin.  Ep. vii.16). Freedmen who had a certain number of children were freed  operarum obligatione  (Dig. 38 tit.1  De Operis Libertorum ); and  libertae , who had four children, were released from the  tutela  of their patrons (Ulp. Frag. tit.29). Those who had three children living at  Rome , four in  Italy , and five in the  provinces , were excused from the office of  tutor  or  curator  (Inst. 1 25; Dig.27 1). After the passing of this law, it became usual for the senate, and afterwards the  emperor  ( princeps ) to give occasionally, as a privilege, the same advantage that the law secured to those who had children. This was called the  Jus Liberorum . Pliny says (Ep. ii.13) that he had lately obtained from the emperor, for a friend of his, the  Jus Trium Liberorum  (see also Ep. x.95, 96; and Dion Cass. lv.2, and the note of  Reimarus ).  This privilege is mentioned in some inscriptions, on which the abbreviation I. L. H. ( jus liberorum habens ) sometimes occurs, which is equivalent to  jura parentis habere . The emperor  M. Antoninus  provided that children should be registered by name within thirty days after their birth with the  Praefectus Aerarii Saturni  (Capitol. M. Ant. c9; compare  Satire IX  of Juvenal, line 84).


The law also imposed penalties on  orbi , that is, married persons who had no children ( qui liberos non habent , Gaius, ii.111) from the age of twenty-five to sixty in a man, and from the age of twenty to fifty in a woman. By the  Lex Papia ,  orbi  could only take one half of an  hereditas  or  legatum  which was left to them (Gaius, ii.286). It seems that an attempt had been made to evade this part of the law by adoptions, which a  Senatus-consultum Neronianum  declared to be ineffectual for the purpose of relieving a person from the penalties of the law (Tacit. Ann. xv.19).


As a general rule a husband and wife could only leave to one another a tenth part of their property; but there were exceptions in respect of children either born of the marriage or by another marriage of one of the parties, which allowed of the free disposal of a larger part. This privilege might also be acquired by obtaining the  Jus Liberorum  (Ulp. Frag. tit.xv, xvi).


This is a list of mothers said to have given birth to 20 or more children and men said to have fathered more than 25 children.


This section lists mothers who gave birth to at least 20 children. Numbers in  bold  and  italics  are likely to be legendary or inexact, some of them having been recorded before the 19th century. Due to the fact that women bear the children and therefore cannot reproduce as often as men, their records are often shared with or exceeded by their partners.


This section lists men who have produced at least 25 or more children, usually with different women. Males who have fathered large numbers of children through medical  sperm donation  are difficult to record. Numbers in  italics  are inexact, particularly of rulers of antiquity.


Marriage loans  ( German :  Ehestandsdarlehen ,  German pronunciation:   [ˈeːəʃtantsˌdaʁleːən] ) were part of the promotion of the family in  Nazi Germany . Instituted in 1933, they were offered to newlywed couples in the form of vouchers for household goods, initially on condition that the woman stopped working. Unless the husband's earnings were very low, interest rates on the loans continued to be lower if only he worked; and one quarter of the principal was forgiven for each child.


Marriage loans were created by the "Law for the Reduction of Unemployment" of June 1, 1933. [ 1 ] [ 2 ]   Aryan  newlyweds were eligible to receive an interest-free loan of 1,000  Reichsmarks , [ 1 ] [ 3 ]  in the form of vouchers in the husband's name that could be redeemed for household goods such as furniture. [ 4 ]  The amount was approximately one fifth of average annual take-home pay; [ 5 ]  industrial workers earned 140 RM a month. [ 6 ]


Initially, the loans required that the bride stop work immediately [ 1 ]  and not take another position during the life of the loan unless the husband was earning less than 125 RM per month. [ 2 ]  Planners hoped that the loan programme would cause 800,000 women to leave the workforce over the first four years, and there was an associated programme of subsidies for household goods manufacture intended to provide jobs for another 200,000 men. [ 7 ]  In November 1933, the  Völkischer Beobachter  featured as a "shining" example the mass wedding and subsequent resignations of 122 female employees of the  Reemtsma  cigarette factory in Berlin, who thereby freed jobs for unemployed men. [ 8 ]


By 1937, full employment had been achieved and women workers were needed, so the requirement was removed and the loan made available to all young people of documented Aryan ancestry and genetic fitness. [ 9 ] [ 6 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ]  This caused an increase in applications: by 1936 approximately one third of couples were receiving them; by 1939 this had risen to 42%. [ 12 ]  In July 1938, a special marriage loan programme for agricultural workers was added as part of the Decree on the Welfare of the Rural Population: couples were eligible if one partner had worked in agriculture or forestry for five years before they married, and the loan would be excused after a further ten years of such work. There was also a renewable 400 RM subsidy to farm workers for setting up a household. [ 13 ]


Applying for the loans required demonstrating ancestral and medical "fitness", which could be onerous. [ 14 ]  However, a law of August 31, 1939 suspended the documentary requirements in anticipation of the effects of the war. [ 2 ] [ 15 ]


Couples who were both employed had to pay back the loan at the rate of 3% per month; if only the husband was employed, the repayment rate was 1% a month. [ 3 ] [ 6 ]  In accordance with the Nazi policy of reversing the decline in the birth rate among Germans, one quarter of the loan was forgiven for each child, so that with the fourth child, no more was owed. [ 3 ] [ 8 ] [ 16 ]  This gave rise to the colloquialism  abkindern  (from  ab , off, and  Kind , child) for discharging the loan by producing offspring. [ 17 ]


By the end of 1938, 1,121,000 marriage loans had been extended, 800,000 under the original conditions of requiring the bride to stop work, and a "baby boom" had resulted in the forgiveness of 980,000. [ 18 ]  The loan was then halved, to 500 RM. [ 6 ]   The 250 RM for each child remained a powerful incentive; other financial assistance, called  Kindergeld , was also available to encourage families to have children. [ 6 ]  The loans were a particularly strong incentive to marry after extramarital pregnancy had occurred. [ 3 ]


The loans were partially paid for by a tax on unmarried people called  Ehestandshilfe  ("marriage assistance"). [ 19 ] [ 20 ]  This was levied at a rate of 2–5% of gross annual income on those under 55 who were liable for income tax; under a law of October 16, 1934, it was incorporated into the income tax beginning in January 1935. [ 21 ] [ 22 ]


As a result of the marriage loan programme, furniture and home furnishings were amongst the few retail trade sectors to show expansion under the Third Reich; and this did not apply to department stores, which were specifically excluded. [ 23 ]


The  East German  government forgave all outstanding marriage loans in 1950, and in 1972 instituted its own loan programme, the  Ehekredit  (marriage credit), which was strongly reminiscent of the Nazi marriage loan: newlyweds under 26 received an interest-free loan of 5,000  East German marks , which was progressively forgiven as they had children (in this case 3), again referred to as  abkindern . [ 24 ] [ 25 ]


The middle of the 20th century was marked by a significant and persistent increase in  fertility rates  in many countries, especially in the  Western world . The term  baby boom  is often used to refer to this particular boom, generally considered to have started immediately after  World War II , although some demographers place it earlier or during the war. [ citation needed ]  This terminology led to those born during this baby boom being nicknamed the  baby boom generation .


The boom coincided with a marriage boom. [ 3 ]  The increase in fertility was driven primarily by a decrease in  childlessness  and an increase in  parity progression  to a second child. In most of the Western countries, progression to a third child and beyond declined, which, coupled with aforementioned increase in transition to first and second child, resulted in higher homogeneity in family sizes. The baby boom was most prominent among educated and economically active women. [ 4 ] [ 5 ]


The baby boom ended with a significant decline in fertility rates in the 1960s and 1970s, later called the  baby bust  by demographers. [ 6 ]


Economist and demographer  Richard Easterlin  in his "Twentieth Century American Population Growth" (2000), explains the growth pattern of the American population in the 20th century by examining the fertility rate fluctuations and the decreasing mortality rate.  Easterlin attempts to prove the cause of the baby boom and baby bust by the "relative income" theory, despite the various other theories that these events have been attributed to.  The "relative income" theory suggests that couples choose to have children based on a couple's ratio of potential earning power and the desire to obtain material objects.  This ratio depends on the economic stability of the country and how people are raised to value material objects.  The "relative income" theory explains the baby boom by suggesting that the late 1940s and the 1950s brought low desires to have material objects, because of the Great Depression and World War II, as well as plentiful job opportunities (being a post-war period).  These two factors gave rise to a high relative income, which encouraged high fertility.  Following this period, the next generation had a greater desire for material objects, however, an economic slowdown in the United States made jobs harder to acquire.  This resulted in lower fertility rates causing the Baby Bust. [ 7 ]


Jan Van Bavel and David S. Reher proposed that the increase in nuptiality (marriage boom) coupled with low efficiency of contraception was the main cause of the baby boom. They doubted the explanations (including the  Easterlin hypothesis ) which considered the post-war economic prosperity that followed deprivation of the Great Depression as main cause of the baby boom, stressing that GDP-birth rate association was not consistent (positive before 1945 and negative after) with GDP growth accounting for a mere 5 percent of the variance in the crude birth rate over the period studied by the authors. [ 8 ]  Data shows that only in a few countries was there a significant and persistent increase in the marital fertility index during the baby boom, which suggests that most of the increase in fertility was driven by the increase in marriage rates. [ 9 ]


Jona Schellekens claims that the rise in male earnings that started in the late 1930s accounts for most of the rise in marriage rates and that Richard Easterlin's hypothesis according to which a relatively small birth cohort entering the labor market caused the marriage boom is not consistent with data from the United States. [ 10 ]