A healthcare worker prepares a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine during the opening of the MTA's public vaccination program at Grand Central Terminal train station in Manhattan in New York City on May 12, 2021. Carlo Allegri/Reuters
During the 20th century, the Supreme Court created new constitutional rights not mentioned in the Constitution’s text, primarily by claiming those rights were inherent in the Fifth and 14th Amendment due process clauses. They included rights to privacy, autonomy, and bodily integrity.
Robert G. Natelson, a former constitutional law professor, is Senior Fellow in Constitutional Jurisprudence at the Mountain States Policy Center and the Independence Institute. He authored “The Original Constitution” (4th ed., 2025) and is a contributor to the Heritage Foundation’s “Heritage Guide to the Constitution.”
