BASTARD

bastard. 1. See illegitimate child under CHILD. 2. A child born to a married woman whose husband could not be or is otherwise proved not to be the father. • Because the word is most

commonly used as a slur, its use in family-law contexts is much in decline. [Cases: Children

Out-of-Wedlock  1. C.J.S. Children Out-of-Wedlock §§ 2–11.]

adulterine bastard.A child born to a married woman whose husband is not the father of the child. • The rebuttable presumption is generally that a child born of the marriage is the husband’s child. A child born to a woman by means of artificial insemination may be termed an adulterine bastard, but most jurisdictions prohibit a husband who has consented to the artificial insemination from denying paternity and responsibility for the child. Cf. ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION. [Blacks Law 8th]