Editing Sexual intercourse (section)

====Marriage and relationships====
Sexual intercourse has traditionally been considered an essential part of a marriage, with many religious customs requiring [[consummation]] of the marriage and citing marriage as the most appropriate union for sexual reproduction (procreation).<!-- NOTE: This is also sourced in the bullet-point examples list below.--><ref name="Hogan">{{cite book| author =Margaret Monahan Hogan|title =Marriage as a Relationship: Real and Rational|publisher = [[Marquette University Press]] | year = 2002 | page = 88 | access-date = September 1, 2015 |isbn = 978-0-87462-657-5| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=HuztAAAAMAAJ&q=Marriage+as+a+Relationship:+Real+and+Rational}}</ref> In such cases, a failure for any reason to consummate the marriage would be considered a ground for [[annulment]] (which does not require a divorce process). Sexual relations between marriage partners have been a "marital right" in various societies and religions, both historically and in modern times, especially with regard to a husband's rights to his wife.<ref name="Dwyer">{{cite book| author =James G. Dwyer|title =Religious Schools V. Children's Rights|publisher = [[Cornell University Press]] | year = 2001 | pages = 72–73 | access-date = August 31, 2015 |isbn = 978-0-8014-8731-6| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=QDwD4huqyysC&pg=PA72}}</ref><ref name="Green">{{cite book| author =Ronald Green|author-link=Ronald Michael Green|title =Religion and Sexual Health: Ethical, Theological, and Clinical Perspectives, Volume 1 of Theology and Medicine|publisher = [[Springer Science & Business Media]] | year = 2013 | page = 112 | access-date = August 31, 2015 |isbn = 978-94-015-7963-6| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=h2mvBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT112}}</ref><ref name="Brook">{{cite book| author =Heather Brook|title = Conjugality: Marriage and Marriage-like Relationships Before the Law|publisher = [[Palgrave Macmillan]] | year = 2015 | pages = 71–73 | access-date = August 31, 2015 |isbn = 978-1-137-48091-0| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=rP2_CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA71}}</ref> Until the late 20th century, there was usually a [[marital rape|marital exemption]] in [[rape law]]s which precluded a husband from being prosecuted under the rape law for forced sex with his wife.<ref name="Steinmetz">{{cite book| author =Suzanne K. Steinmetz| author2 =Marvin B. Sussman|title = Handbook of Marriage and the Family|publisher = [[Springer Science & Business Media]] | year = 2013 | pages = 787–788 | access-date = August 31, 2014 |isbn = 978-1-4615-7151-3| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=T6XwBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA787}}</ref> Author Oshisanya, 'lai Oshitokunbo stated, "As the legal status of women has changed, the concept of a married man's or woman's marital right to sexual intercourse has become less widely held."<ref name="Oshitokunbo">{{cite book| author =Oshisanya, 'lai Oshitokunbo|title = An Almanac of Contemporary Judicial Restatements (Criminal & Quasi Criminal Law & Procedure) vol. iii: Almanac vol. iii|publisher = Almanac Foundation | year = 2015 | page = 132 | access-date = August 31, 2015 |isbn = 978-978-51200-3-5| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=fsDOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA132}}</ref>

[[Adultery]] (engaging in sexual intercourse with someone other than one's spouse) has been, and remains, a criminal offense in some jurisdictions.<ref name="Brundage">{{cite book| author =[[James A. Brundage]]|title =Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe|publisher = [[University of Chicago Press]] | year = 2009 | pages = 609–611 | access-date = August 31, 2015 |isbn = 978-0-226-07789-5| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=SiGe-Zf0nTIC&pg=PA609}}</ref><ref name="Carlan">{{cite book| author =Philip Carlan| author2 =Lisa S. Nored| author3 =Ragan A. Downey|title =An Introduction to Criminal Law|publisher = [[Jones & Bartlett Publishers]] | year = 2011 | page = 139 | access-date = August 31, 2015 |isbn = 978-1-4496-4721-6| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=8-tPwZyNWzkC&pg=PA139}}</ref> Sexual intercourse between unmarried partners and cohabitation of an unmarried couple are also illegal in some jurisdictions.<ref name="BBC News">{{cite news|title = Can Iran 'control' its cohabiting couples?|date = December 10, 2014|access-date=August 31, 2015|work = BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30391593}}</ref><ref name="amnesty.org">{{cite web|title=Amnesty International Report 2014/15|date=2014|access-date=August 31, 2015|publisher=[[amnesty.org]]|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/morocco/report-morocco/|archive-date=May 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504233053/https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/morocco/report-morocco/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Conversely, in other countries, marriage is not required, socially or legally, in order to have sexual intercourse or to procreate (for example, the majority of births are outside of marriage in countries such as Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Bulgaria, Estonia, Slovenia, France, Belgium).<ref name="europa.eu">{{cite web|title =Share of live births outside marriage|date = March 2, 2015|access-date=August 31, 2015|publisher = [[europa.eu]] |url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tps00018}}</ref>

With regard to [[divorce law]]s, the refusal to engage in sexual intercourse with one's spouse may give rise to a [[grounds for divorce]], which may be listed under "grounds of abandonment".<ref name=Choudhri>{{cite book| author =Choudhri, Nihara K|title =The complete guide to divorce law|publisher = [[Citadel Press]] | year = 2004 | pages = 8–9 | access-date = August 30, 2015 |isbn = 978-0-8065-2528-0| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=5cLIO2yUA4gC&pg=PA8}}</ref> Concerning [[no-fault divorce]] jurisdictions, author James G. Dwyer stated that no-fault divorce laws "have made it much easier for a woman to exit a marital relationship, and wives have obtained greater control over their bodies while in a marriage" because of legislative and judicial changes regarding the concept of a marital exemption when a man rapes his wife.<ref name="Dwyer"/>

There are various legal positions regarding the meaning and legality of sexual intercourse between persons of the same sex or gender. For example, in the 2003 [[New Hampshire Supreme Court]] case [[Blanchflower v. Blanchflower]], it was held that female same-sex sexual relations, and same-sex sexual practices in general, did not constitute sexual intercourse, based on a 1961 entry in ''[[Webster's Third New International Dictionary]]'' that categorizes sexual intercourse as coitus; and thereby an accused wife in a divorce case was found not guilty of [[adultery]].<ref name="GLAD, B vs. B">{{cite web|title=Blanchflower v. Blanchflower and Mayer|publisher=[[Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders]] (GLAD)|date=December 31, 2003|access-date=August 9, 2013|url=http://www.glad.org/work/cases/blanchflower-v-blanchflower-and-mayer|archive-date=November 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161121174107/http://www.glad.org/work/cases/blanchflower-v-blanchflower-and-mayer|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="courts.state.nh.us">{{cite web |title=In the Matter of David G. Blanchflower and Sian E. Blanchflower |website=New Hampshire Judicial Branch |date=November 7, 2003 |access-date=September 3, 2023 |url=http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme/opinions/2003/blanc150.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040212230629/http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme/opinions/2003/blanc150.htm |archive-date=February 12, 2004}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Some countries consider same-sex sexual behavior an offense punishable by imprisonment or execution; this is the case, for example, [[LGBT in Islam|in Islamic countries]], including [[LGBT rights in Iran|LGBT issues in Iran]].<ref>[[Janet Afary]]. Sexual Politics in Modern Iran. (2009) [[Cambridge University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-521-89846-3}}</ref><ref name="amnesty.org2">{{cite web|title=PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/010/2008. UA 17/08 Fear of imminent execution/ flogging|publisher=[[Amnesty International]]|access-date=December 22, 2013|url=http://www2.amnesty.se/uaonnet.nsf/dfab8d7f58eec102c1257011006466e1/fd0b99f84da0da71c12573d7003a87a5?OpenDocument&Click=|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305004923/http://www2.amnesty.se/uaonnet.nsf/dfab8d7f58eec102c1257011006466e1/fd0b99f84da0da71c12573d7003a87a5?OpenDocument&Click=|archive-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref>

Opposition to [[same-sex marriage]] is largely based on the belief that sexual intercourse and sexual orientation should be of a heterosexual nature.<ref name="Cahn and Carbone">{{Cite book|author1=Naomi R. Cahn |author2=June Carbone |title = Red families v. blue families: legal polarization and the creation of culture | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] US| year = 2010 |page =129| isbn = 978-0-19-537217-5|access-date=July 29, 2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F6eeGny49J4C&pg=PA129}}</ref><ref name="Cantor">{{Cite book| author =Donald J. Cantor|title =Same-sex marriage: the legal and psychological evolution in America| publisher = [[Wesleyan University Press]]| year = 2006 |pages =1–191| isbn = 978-0-8195-6812-0|access-date=July 29, 2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lydHmmrHB8QC}}</ref><ref name="psychological">{{cite web|title=Resolution on Sexual Orientation and Marriage |author=[[American Psychological Association]] |year=2004| access-date=September 1, 2015 |url=http://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/task-force/military-deployment.pdf}}</ref> The recognition of such marriages is a [[civil rights]], political, social, moral and religious issue in many nations, and the conflicts arise over whether same-sex couples should be allowed to enter into marriage, be required to use a different status (such as a [[civil union]], which either grant equal rights as marriage or limited rights in comparison to marriage), or not have any such rights. A related issue is whether the word ''marriage'' should be applied.<ref name="Cantor"/><ref name="psychological"/>