Opinion ID: 1143517
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Federal Constitutional Right

Text: The U.S. Constitution does not expressly mention privacy or a right of privacy. Nevertheless, the [Supreme] Court has recognized that a right of personal privacy, or a guarantee of certain areas or zones of privacy, does exist under the Constitution. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 152, 93 S.Ct. 705, 726, 35 L.Ed.2d 147 (1973). This right to privacy emanates from the penumbra of specific guarantees of particular amendments to the Constitution. Id. Although the parameters of the right to privacy never have been clearly defined, personal rights found in this guarantee of personal privacy must be limited to those which are `fundamental' or `implicit in the concept of ordered liberty.' Paul v. Davis, 424 U.S. 693, 713, 96 S.Ct. 1155, 1166, 47 L.Ed.2d 405 (1976). Matters relating to marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, and child rearing and education generally have been encompassed by this penumbral right. [6] Id.; accord State v. Murphy, 117 Ariz. 57, 60, 570 P.2d 1070, 1073 (1977). The Supreme Court has yet to hold that the right to privacy encompasses the right to refuse medical treatment. [7] Nevertheless, numerous state courts have reasoned from Supreme Court decisions that the right to privacy is broad enough to grant an individual the right to chart his or her own medical treatment plan. [8] We agree with our sister states. The right to refuse medical treatment is a personal right sufficiently fundamental or implicit in the concept of ordered liberty to fall within the constitutionally protected zone of privacy contemplated by the Supreme Court. [9]