Law and morality are inextricably linked. Those who make, enforce, or are subject to the law may wish to believe that legal principles rest on objective foundations, but the reality could not be further from the truth. Even our most basic and well-accepted legal prohibitions or legal rights are steeped in deep moral judgments.
The relationship between law and morality is complicated. Law and morality may coexist peacefully or conflict. Increasingly, however, situations arise in which legal requirements or prohibitions may contradict the moral standards held by many or even most of those subject to the law. Restrictions on abortion and gender-affirming care; book bans; deportation orders; prohibitions on diversity, equity, and inclusion policies; tax breaks for the wealthiest sectors of the population; and laws and regulations that amount to the erasure of transgender and non-binary people illustrate just a small subset of recent collisions between law and morality. Further complicating the relationship between law and morality is the fact that morals are neither static nor universal—they change over time and vary from person to person.