Natural Law: Alive and Kicking? A Look at the Constitutional Morality of Sexual Privacy in Ireland

Abstract

This article discusses the role of moral argument in the Constitutional case law of the Irish courts. It looks at the debate on the constitutional morality of sexuality in four major cases: a 1973 case protecting the right to use contraceptives; a 1984 case which upholds discrimination against gay men; a 1987 case limiting access to abortion information; and a 1992 case which finds a limited right to abortion in the Constitution. These cases show the role of the courts in contributing to a debate on political morality, both proposing new visions of political morality, and elaborating on the requirements of the current one.