Conservative Inadvertently Asks The Right Questions

In a Sunday New York Times op/ed, Princeton University jurisprudence professor and conservative pundit Robert George questions the Supreme Court's justification for finding a "so-called right to privacy" in the Constitution based on the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment declares, "nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."

George pointedly asks:

"On what constitutional basis can we say that abortion is protected by "due process" but a right to assisted suicide—unanimously rejected by the court in 1997—is not? Why is sodomy protected and prostitution unprotected? Why does the right to privacy not extend to polygamy or the use of recreational drugs?"

George clearly finds all of the activities he listed distasteful and immoral and wants the Supreme Court, Congress, state legislatures and county commissions to outlaw them all. Yet, he asks exactly the right questions–why should the Supreme Court permit any level of government to interfere with these private pursuits?