Ninth Amendment

I had been puzzled by the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade until, when researching the Bill of Rights, I discovered why.

The Ninth Amendment says that, just because a basic right is not enumerated (listed) such omission “shall not be construed to deny or disparage …” that right. James Madison argued, when debating a Bill of Rights, that listing specific protected rights would permit legislatures to deny people others not listed. He offered the Ninth Amendment’s first draft.

I have a right to wear different color socks, hug my grandchildren and kiss my dog if it makes me happy. I don’t need government to tell me these are OK, even though none of them is “enumerated” in the Constitution. Thanks to the founders, these and uncountable other rights are protected by the Ninth Amendment, and legislatures (federal, state or local) may not abridge any of them without demonstrating a legitimate purpose.

So why was the Ninth Amendment ignored in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization? The late Justice Antonin Scalia, I discovered, held that the Ninth Amendment does not empower the judiciary to protect any non-enumerated right. His belief, followed in Dobbs, mocks the founders’ desire that government not interfere with individual rights unless necessary.

Under this warped principle, any state may criminalize abortion, same sex marriage or kissing dogs. The notion that our individual rights are bestowed by government rather than a creator would have our founders spinning in their graves. Because the Supreme Court has abandoned our individual rights, it’s time for Congress to act.