In addition to the positive ban on abortion contained in Article 40.3.3°, previous judgments of the Supreme Court have emphasised the importance of natural law in the Irish constitutional framework, based partly on the preamble to the Constitution which refers to the "Christian nature of the State". Previous "dicta" from "McGee v. Attorney General", "G. v. An Bord Uchtála" and "Norris v. Attorney General" indicated that notwithstanding the explicit positive law constitutional ban on abortion, even if Article 40.3.3° were not there, the natural law enshrined in the Constitution would prohibit the Oireachtas from legalising abortion.