Partus Sequitur Ventrem
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary · Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
The oif-spring follows the condition of the mother.
Inst. 2. 1. 19.
This is the law in the case of slaves and animals (1 Bouv. Inst, notes 167, 502), but with regard to freemen, children follow the condition of the father.