Natural Law Jurisprudence in U.S. Supreme Court Cases since Roe v. Wade

“Natural Law and the US Supreme Court since Roe v. Wade” examines US Supreme Court cases which highlight, feature and illuminate some facet of natural law reasoning since the court’s decree in Roe v. Wade. For most of our constitutional and legal history, there has been an exhilarating debate about whether natural law that commands or encourages certain legal resolutions––even from the time of the Founders. Most would concur that the legal philosophy of Jefferson and other Founders favored a natural law basis for this republic and its corresponding rights. And while the proposed text accepts that the concept and understanding of natural law reasoning has both supporters and detractors in contemporary settings, earlier Supreme Court rulings on controversial subject matter used natural law language with regularity. Since the 1970s, the idea of a perennial, immutable and unassailable natural law has lost favor. And given the recent surge in controversial case laws and conflicting decisions on highly charged topics, a return to first principles grounded in nature and natural law might be beneficial. Indeed, the proposed research hopes to gauge its current relevancy, usage and reliance in more modern judicial cases.