The drive of a terminally ill person to end his unwished-for life should trump the desire of his neighbors to keep him alive. Judicial decisions prohibiting public schools from sponsoring sectarian religious activities may offend the majority in any given community, but they are essential to protecting religious freedom. Repressive laws are sometimes demanded by majorities. So the need to protect against the tyranny of the majority remains an article of faith among American civil libertarians. We risk a great deal by empowering the judiciary to define our rights, but we risk more by relegating fundamental freedoms to the vagaries of majority rule.
Rights are the last resort of the unpopular.
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