Right to Privacy Definition

1) The right not to have one's personal matters disclosed or publicized; the right to be left alone.

2) The right not to be subjected to substantial government interference with fundamental personal rights and decisions.

The U.S. Constitution doesn't explicitly say that there's a constitutionally-protected right to privacy. But several U.S. Supreme Court decisions have found that a right to privacy is implied by the text of a number of constitutional amendments. Those decisions (and the privacy rights they've found to be protected) include:

• Griswold v. Connecticut (right of married couples to use contraceptives)
• Eisenstadt v. Baird (right of unmarried persons to possess and use contraceptives as do married couples)
• Loving v. Virginia, Zablocki v. Redhail, and Obergefell v. Hodges (right to marry)
• Moore v. East Cleveland (right to live with family members)
• Skinner v. Oklahoma (right to procreate)
• Pierce v. Society of Sisters and Troxel v. Granville (right to care, custody, and control of minor children)

In addition, Roe v. Wade ruled that the right to privacy included the right to have an abortion under some circumstances. Roe was overruled by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org. In addition to overruling Roe, Dobbs also calls into question the reasoning behind the Court's right to privacy cases.