Ninth Amendment

The Ninth Amendment reads: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." It answered a concern raised during ratification, voiced by James Madison and others, that a written bill of rights might imply the people had no rights beyond those listed.

Courts have rarely used the Ninth Amendment as an independent source of enforceable rights. It was cited in a concurring opinion in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the contraception case, but the Supreme Court has generally protected unlisted rights through substantive due process instead. Most judges treat it as a rule of interpretation rather than a grant of judicial power.

Its meaning is debated. Some libertarian scholars read it as protecting a broad set of natural rights that courts should enforce. Many originalists read it more modestly, as a companion to the Tenth Amendment confirming that the federal government's powers are limited, not as an invitation for judges to identify new rights. Progressives have also cited it in support of privacy and autonomy rights.