The Ninth Amendment

The Ninth Amendment states that just because a right is not specified in the Constitution does not mean the people do not have it.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

This amendment provides that there are rights we hold not identified in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. And that they are entitled to protection from government intrusion. Basically, the preceding 8 amendments and the original constitutional rights are not a complete list. As with many of the founding documents, the meaning of the Ninth Amendment is highly debated. Some scholars and judges have argued that it doesn’t create or highlight new or unwritten rights, claiming that, when read together with the Tenth Amendment, the Ninth simply emphasizes that any powers not given to the federal government belong to the states or to the people.