One famous case concerning natural law theory is the case of Roe v. Wade, which was a landmark Supreme Court case in 1973 that legalized abortion in the United States. The case centered around the question of whether a woman's right to privacy, as protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, included the right to have an abortion.
Natural law theory argues that there are certain inherent rights and moral principles that are universal and unchanging, and that these rights are derived from nature or a higher power. In the case of Roe v. Wade, proponents of natural law theory argued that the right to life, as protected by the Constitution, should extend to the unborn fetus and that abortion violated this fundamental right.
On the other hand, proponents of a more positivist or utilitarian approach argued that a woman's right to privacy and autonomy should take precedence over the potential rights of the fetus. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the woman's right to choose, citing the right to privacy as protected under the Constitution.
This case highlights the tension between natural law theory, which emphasizes universal moral principles, and legal positivism, which focuses on the interpretation and application of laws based on societal norms and values.