Natural law is more a pluralistic tradition of doing ethics than a precisely formulated ethical theory. So thinkers in the natural-law tradition can take different sides in the debate over supernaturalism, naturalism, and intuitionism.Sexual moralityThe principle of double effect, which is part of the natural-law tradition, says roughly that under certain conditions it's permissible to do something with a morally good intended effect and a morally bad unintended side effect.
Natural-law thinkers usually defend a conservative view about sexual morality: genital sexual relations are morally proper only if they occur between husband and wife in a form of sexual intercourse that is open to the procreation of children. Some natural-law moderates propose instead that the basic sexual norm is to follow those rules about sexual relations that are required, in one's cultural situation, to promote the integrity of the family and the nurturing of children.
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