Roe v. Wade (1972) The landmark decision which established that women have a basic right to have an abortion, this was based in many ways upon the earlier decisions above. Through the above cases, the Supreme Court developed the idea that the Constitution protects a person's to privacy, particularly when it comes to matters involving children ...
A case deciding that parents may not be forced to send their children to public rather than private schools, based on the idea that, once again, parents have a fundamental liberty in deciding what happens to their children .
The 11th Circuit Court ruled that the Alabama legislature was within its rights to ban the sale of "sex toys," and that people do not necessarily have any right to buy them.
Society of Sisters (1925) A case deciding that parents may not be forced to send their children to public rather than private schools, based on the idea that , once again , parents have a fundamental liberty in deciding what happens to their children.
Connecticut's laws against distribution of contraceptives and contraceptive information to married couples are struck down, with the Court relying on earlier precedent involving the rights of people to make decisions about their families and procreation as a legitimate sphere of privacy which the government does not have limitless authority over.
An Oklahoma law providing for the sterilization of people found to be "habitual criminals" is struck down, based on the idea that all people have a fundamental right to make their choices about marriage and procreation, despite the fact that no such right is explicitly written in the Constitution.
The issue of whether the Constitution actually protects the right to privacy in ways not described in the Bill of Rights is a controversial subject. Originalists often argue that there is no general right to privacy within the constitution. However, as early as 1923 the Supreme Court, recognized through decisions, ...
Furthermore, the 9th Amendment says that the enumeration of certain rights as found in the Bill of Rights cannot deny other rights of the people. While this is a vague statement, court precedent has said that the 9th amendment is a way to justify looking at the Bill of Rights as a way to protect the right to privacy in a specific way not given in ...
The Third Amendment, in its prohibition against the quartering of soldiers 'in any house' in time of peace without the consent of the owner, is another facet of that privacy. The Fourth Amendment explicitly affirms the 'right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.'.
Online privacy has been an issue since the internet was fully commercialized in the United States in 1995. While adults have a host of means by which they can protect their data, children are completely vulnerable without oversight.
The right to privacy is the time-travel paradox of constitutional law: Even though it didn't exist as a constitutional doctrine until 1961 and didn't form the basis of a Supreme Court ruling until 1965, it is, in some respects, the oldest constitutional right. This assertion that we have "the right to be left alone," as Supreme Court Justice Louis ...
Three amendments to the U.S. Bill of Rights were ratified after the Civil War to guarantee the rights of newly freed African Americans: The Thirteenth Amendment (1865) abolished enslavement, the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) gave Black men the right to vote, and Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) broadened civil rights protections, which would naturally extend to the formerly enslaved population. "No State," the amendment reads, "shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
In Poe v. Ullman (1961), the U.S. Supreme Court declines to overturn a Connecticut law banning birth control on the grounds that the plaintiff was not threatened by the law and, subsequently, had no standing to sue. In his dissent, Justice John Marshall Harlan II outlines the right to privacy—and, with it, a new approach to unenumerated rights:
The Founders said Brandeis “conferred against the government, the right to be let alone —the most comprehensive of rights and the rightmost favored by civilized men.” In his dissent, he also argued for a constitutional amendment to guarantee the right to privacy.
In his dissent, he also argued for a constitutional amendment to guarantee the right to privacy.
Although the Constitution does not explicitly provide for such rights, the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution protect these rights, specifically in the areas of marriage, procreation, abortion, private consensual homosexual activity, and medical treatment. State and federal laws may limit some of these rights to privacy, ...
Privacy Rights and Personal Autonomy. The U.S Constitution safeguards the rights of Americans to privacy and personal autonomy. Although the Constitution does not explicitly provide for such rights, the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution protect these rights, specifically in the areas of marriage, procreation, abortion, ...
113 (1973), the Supreme Court found a fundamental right of privacy under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court interpreted this right to cover women seeking to terminate their pregnancies, but only before a fetus is viable outside the womb. This period is generally the first trimester of a pregnancy. Accordingly, the government must justify any limit it places on abortions by providing a compelling state interest. Once a fetus is viable outside of the womb, the state's compelling interest in preventing abortion and protecting the life of the mother outweighs a mother's personal autonomy.
The Court has not granted a complete right of personal autonomy in the area of pornography, but some privacy has been allowed. In Stanley v. Georgia, 394 U.S. 557 (1969), the Supreme Court invalidated all state laws that prohibit the private possession of obscene materials, based upon rights granted by the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
479 (1965), the State of Connecticut convicted two persons as accessories for giving a married couple information on and a prescription for a birth-control device. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the convictions and found the Connecticut law to be unconstitutional because it violated a right to privacy in the marital relation.
Courts have struck down spousal consent and notification laws as unconstitutional, but have permitted some parental notification regulations. Also, courts have ruled that the right to abortion is an individual privacy right, and the government does not have to provide or pay for abortions.
The Supreme Court has held that adults have the right to personal autonomy in matters relating to their own medical care. Adults, as long as they are competent to understand their decision, have the right to refuse medical treatment, even life-saving medical treatment, though a state may require clear and convincing evidence that a person wanted treatment ended before it allows termination. A state may restrict family members from terminating treatment for another, because this right belongs to each individual. The court has not extended this right to allow physician-assisted suicide.