Toward a theory of human rights : religion, law, courts / Michael J. Perry. electronic resource

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The morality of human rights -- The morality of human rights : a religious ground -- The morality of human rights : a nonreligious ground? -- From morality to law -- Capital punishment -- Abortion -- Same-sex unions -- Protecting human rights in a democracy : what role for the courts? -- How should the Supreme Court rule? -- Capital punishment, abortion, and same-sex unions.

The morality of human rights - which holds that each and every human being has inherent dignity and is inviolable - has become the dominant morality of our time. Yet neither the morality of human rights nor its relation to the law of human rights is well understood. Toward a Theory of Human Rights makes a significant contribution both to human rights studies and to constitutional theory.