NARAL Ad Criticizes Roberts on Privacy Rights

NARAL misfired in their earlier ad in falsely suggesting that John Roberts approved of violence against abortion providers. They have redeemed themselves with a new ad which gets to the real issues. Even FactCheck.org agreed with the accuracy of this ad.

The ad concentrates on writings in which Roberts shows he does not believe in the right to privacy or the court’s previous findings in Rowe v. Wade. FactCheck notes that the Supreme Court has recognized the right to privacy dating back to 1891:

The Supreme Court, beginning in a case in 1891 and especially since the 1960s, has recognized that there may be zones of privacy in certain instances. In Griswold v. Connecticut , for example, the Court invoked a “right of privacy” in ruling that the state cannot make it illegal for married couples to use contraceptives. The court has addressed the “right to privacy” in a wide range of cases dealing with illegal searches in schools, random drug testing, and the government’s ability to access personal information.

In addition to these court cases, legal scholars have also cited portions of the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 14th amendments as providing for personal autonomy and privacy. The 9th amendment also preserves rights for the individual which were not specifically enumerated elsewhere in the Constitution.