The right to privacy was first protected as a constitutional right in a case called Griswold v. Connecticut, in which the Supreme court found that a state law that made contraception was a crime. It was classified as a penumbral right as it originated from the I, III, IV, V amendments, which embody privacy values. The right was also viewed as being part of the IX Amendment, which recognizes that the rights, enumerated in the bill of Rights, are not an exhaustive list of protected rights.

Also, the Due Process Clause of the XIV Amendment prevents legislative efforts to deny the people of life, liberty and property. The concept of liberty within this context has been interpreted as encompassing individual privacy rights. This was the basis for Roe v. Wade, and while I may disagree with the outcome of the decision, I feel the application of the privacy right was appropriate for the test of the constitutionality of abortion.

The privacy right, found in the Fourteenth Amendment, was the basis for declaring statutes criminalizing sodomy as unconstitutional ten years ago.