Abominable and detestable crime against nature
What does Abominable and detestable crime against nature mean in American Law?
The definition of Abominable and detestable crime against nature in the law of the United States, as defined by the lexicographer Arthur Leff in his legal dictionary is:
A rather enthusiastic euphemism (sometimes shortened to “abominable crime”) found in many nineteenth-century (and some current) statutes, referring to a not fully specified range of sexual crimes. The term seems to include any sexual relations between a human animal and a non-human animal involving any orifice of either. It also seems to include any sexual relations between two males, certainly any that involves penetration of the penis of one into the anus of the other, and most likely any penetration of the mouth too. It may also include any sexual act which involves the penetration of the male penis into any female orifice other than the vagina. It does not, at least traditionally, seem to cover sexual activities between females. Given the ambiguities noted above about what activities are covered, statutes employing it have been constitutionally challenged, sometimes successfully, on the ground of vagueness. Moreover, it is not clear how far the relatively recent constitutional doctrine of marital privacy will affect the prosecution of such acts between married couples. See also bestiality, buggery; sodomy.
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