Section 10.12 Constitutional Right of Privacy

• Library: Trusts and Powers 2013 Supp

A. (§10.12) Constitutional Right of Privacy

The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that one aspect of the “liberty” protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution is “a right of personal privacy, or a guarantee of certain areas or zones of privacy.” Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 152 (1973); Carey v. Population Servs. Int’l, 431 U.S. 678, 684 (1977). This right of personal privacy encompasses the right to independently make important decisions. Whalen v. Roe, 429 U.S. 589, 599–600 (1977). The common law right of individual autonomy extends to decisions relating to one’s health and welfare. Cruzan ex rel. Cruzan v. Harmon, 760 S.W.2d 408, 416 (Mo...