Opinion ID: 599675
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Ninth Amendment

Text: 89 The Ninth Amendment provides that [t]he enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. In support of their objection to the plaintiff's summary judgment motion, the defendants have argued that the Ninth Amendment gives citizens the right to choose their own medical treatment. 90 Rather than enunciating a particular affirmative right, the Ninth Amendment serves to protect other fundamental rights that are not set forth in the Constitution. Charles v. Brown, 495 F.Supp. 862, 863 (N.D.Ala.1980). Some unenumerated rights may be of Constitutional magnitude, but only by virtue of other amendments, such as the Fifth or Fourteenth Amendment. A person cannot claim a right that exists solely under the Ninth Amendment. Id. at 864. 91 In Anderson v. Ballard, 498 F.Supp. 1038 (S.D.Tex.1980), to which the defendants cite in support of their defense, the district court concluded that the decision to obtain or reject medical treatment ... is both personal and important enough to be encompassed by the right of privacy. Id. at 1048. Therefore, articles and rules that limited the practice of acupuncture in Texas deprived citizens of the right to obtain acupuncture treatment and violated their right to privacy. Id. at 1057. Nevertheless, the Anderson court balanced the individual's right to medical treatment with the State's interest in preserving the health of the patient, and found that the State could have accomplished its goal by less drastic means. Id. 92 In Anderson, the court found that the right to obtain and reject medical treatment was grounded in the liberty aspect of the Fourteenth Amendment, which formed the basis for an individual's right to privacy. Assuming that the defendants in this case had even asserted a Fifth or Fourteenth Amendment defense, which they did not, their right to privacy would still not be implicated by the government's action. There are cases where the government's interest in protecting the health of its citizens often overrides a patient's choice of a particular treatment or medication. Jacob v. Curt, 721 F.Supp. 1536, 1539 (D.R.I.1989). For instance, when cancer patients sought to enjoin the government from interfering with the interstate shipment of Laetrile, the Tenth Circuit noted that the patients' right of privacy could not override the fact that Laetrile might have been a new drug. 93 It is apparent in the context with which we are here concerned that the decision by the patient whether to have a treatment or not is a protected right, but his selection of a particular treatment, or at least a medication, is within the area of governmental interest in protecting public health. 94 Rutherford v. United States, 616 F.2d 455, 457 (10th Cir.1980). Even under the string of Supreme Court cases which have held that individuals have various rights of privacy, Congress still has the authority to limit a patient's choice of medication. Id. 95 Therefore, a claim that American citizens have the freedom to choose whatever medication or treatment they desire is not grounded in the Fifth, Ninth or Fourteenth Amendment. The defendants have asserted only the Ninth Amendment, which is not a source of substantive rights unless it is coupled with the denial of a fundamental right. See e.g., United States v. Choate, 576 F.2d 165, 181 (9th Cir.1978). Because the right to receive any medicine or treatment is not a constitutional right under the Fourteenth Amendment's right to privacy, the defendants' Ninth Amendment defense must be overruled. See Charles v. Brown, 495 F.Supp. at 364 (a ... claim based solely on alleged Ninth Amendment rights must fail because there are no constitutional rights secured by that amendment.). 96 Since the Court has found that Vital Health's products are unapproved new drugs and misbranded drugs, and has rejected the defendants' Ninth Amendment defense, it must determine whether there is a risk that the defendants will continue to manufacture and promote their products in spite of the Act's restrictions. It finds that there is a reasonable chance that the defendants will continue to do so unless they are permanently enjoined. Mr. LeBeau was already the subject of a civil forfeiture action with respect to another substance, Oxygel, which was found to be a misbranded drug. In addition, he has received warning letters from the FDA which apprised him of the government's suspicions that Vital Health's products contravened the Act. The only changes he has made in his behavior were thinly veiled attempts to circumvent the specific language of the Act; in particular, he has argued that his products are not misbranded by virtue of the claims in Hydrogen Peroxide Therapy, because Vital Health and News no longer sell this booklet. While this may be true, Mr. LeBeau is the author of the booklet and advertises it with shipments of Vital Health's products. This type of behavior, as well as his insistence on distributing his products in the face of impending litigation and his misapprehension of his rights under the Ninth Amendment, have led this Court to conclude that a permanent injunction is the only means by which Mr. LeBeau and Vital Health can conform their conduct to that required by the Act. Therefore, the government's motion for summary judgment shall be granted.