''McGee v. The Attorney General''
973
Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...
IR 284 was a judgment of the
Irish Supreme Court
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in 1973 on marital privacy. By a decision of 4 to 1, the court conferred upon spouses a broad right to privacy in marital affairs.
Background
Mary McGee was a 27-year-old mother of four, including twins, at the time of the case. McGee's second and third pregnancies were complicated by severe
cerebral thrombosis
A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of cr ...
. Also during her pregnancies she suffered from a stroke and temporary paralysis. Her condition was such that she was advised by her physician that if she would become pregnant again her life would be endangered. She was then instructed to use a diaphragm and spermicidal jelly that was prescribed to her.
However, section 17 of the
Criminal Law Amendment Act 1935 prohibited the importation of these devices.
Ruling
The Supreme Court ruled by a 4 to 1 majority in favor of Mary McGee, after determining that married couples have the constitutional right to make private decisions on family planning.
References
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Constitution of Ireland
Irish constitutional law
1974 in Ireland
1974 in case law