Traditional Marriage and Public Law
Traditional Marriage and Public Law
This chapter examines the philosophical argument, grounded in natural law, for regarding marriage as necessarily the union of one man and one woman. It first considers whether marriage is by nature heterosexual by discussing the claims advanced by Sherif Girgis, Ryan T. Anderson, and Robert P. George in their book What Is Marriage? Man and Woman—A Defense. In particular, it explores the New Natural Law defense of marriage as necessarily the relation of one man and one woman, its endorsement of sex within the marriages of sterile heterosexuals as not only permissible but good, and its insistence that only heterosexual couples can be married because only their unions can be oriented toward having and raising children. The chapter shows that natural law arguments fail to provide a reasoned basis for excluding same-sex couples from the civil institution of marriage.
Keywords: natural law, marriage, New Natural Law, heterosexuals, heterosexual couples, children, same-sex couples, Sherif Girgis, Ryan T. Anderson, Robert P. George
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