Grogan case brief (EU Law)

Grogan

FACTS
-Ireland prohibits abortion, and prohibited travel to get an abortion; some students handing out
brochures as to where to get an abortion in the UK, a pro-life group filed a claim that it was violation of Ireland

-Constitution; defensive claim was the right of services right to offer services (advertise) across the border
said that when talking about a Constitutional right, the only thing that could counterbalance it is
another Constitutional right
-Irish court clearly thinks the right to travel / services is not a counterbalance
Ireland eventually amends the Constitution so there is a right to travel (for an abortion)
-EU found that these students had no standing to assert the right to travel for services it was someone else’s
services (kind of sidesteps the issue there was no direct clash)
Advocate General’s opinion some cases in which the Constitutional principle might be based on some
strong public policy, and that when that’s the case there should be an exception to the supremacy clause