Literature Review on Provision of Appropriate and Accessible ...

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in recognising people with intellectual disabilities’ need for sexual
fulfilment.
In this regard, <strong>Literature</strong> the Supreme <strong>Review</strong> Court on Provision in Re a of Ward Appropriate of Court and (withholding
Accessible
Support to People with an Intellectual Disability who are
medical treatment) (No. 2) [56] recognised that a loss of mental capacity
Experiencing Crisis Pregnancy
does not result in any diminution of one’s personal rights under Article
40.3.1 and Article 40.3.2 of the Constitution. In Ireland the courts
have recognised that these rights include the right to privacy, selfdetermination
and the right to marry and found a family (LRC, 2005).
The right to privacy and the right to marry, however, have not been
interpreted in the courts as absolute and unqualified in nature.
Article 8 and Article 12 of the ECHR are also relevant. Article 8 deals with
a person’s right to respect for privacy and family life. Article 12 provides
for the right for men and women of marriageable age to marry and found
a family within the boundaries of the national law. It has been argued that
the right to marry, or even to found a family, implies the existence of a
sexual relationship, but this falls short of providing a ‘right’ to have sex
(Evans and Rodgers, 2000).
Meanwhile, Article 8 would seem to go further in enabling individuals
to engage in sexual activity when it provides an individual with the ‘right
to respect for his private and family life’ (Evans and Rodgers, 2000). In
relation to Article 8, the European Commission on Human Rights has
stated:
The arrangement of sexual relations and family planning come on
principle within the sphere of private and family life as protected
by Article. 8, paragraph 1 [57]
Furthermore, in the same case (Bruggeman and Scheuten v Germany)
the European Commission on Human Rights stated:
[An individual] must also have the possibility of establishing
56 [1996] 2 IR 73, 126 per Hamilton CJ.
57 Decision by the European Commission on Human Rights on Application No.
6959/75, Bruggemann and Scheuten against Federal Republic of Germany,
http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/portal.asp?sessionId=17942956&skin=hudocen&action=request