Civil and Political Rights

Miclien Clark Nanale

AB Political Science – 3A
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa
Right to Privacy
• Right to be let alone, which has been interpreted by
Supreme Court to entail free access to birth control and
abortions.
• Some of the time would just like to be left alone, to have
their own private domain into which no one— friends,
family, government, church, or employer—has the right to
enter without permission.
Right to Privacy (cont.d)
 Birth Control - the concept of liberty embraces the right of marital
privacy.
 Abortion - Roe vs. Wade. This decision established a woman’s
right to seek an abortion and prohibited states from making
abortion a criminal act.
 Homosexuality - Bowers vs. Hardwick with a dramatic
pronouncement that gays are “entitled to respect for their private
lives” as a matter of constitutional due process.
 The War on Terrorism - In response to the September 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks on the United States, Congress enacted new
legislation—the USA PATRIOT Act — designed to make it easier
for federal law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute
suspected terrorists.
Civil Rights
 Equal Protection of Laws Clause - The provision of
the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing citizens “the
equal protection of the laws.” This clause has been the
basis for the civil rights of African Americans, women,
and other groups.
 How does the Government respond to attain civil and
political rights?
◦ Affirmative Action - A policy or program designed to
redress historic injustices committed against specific
groups by making special efforts to provide members
of these groups with access to educational and
employment opportunities.
Rise of Politics of Civil Rights:
 Gender Discrimination – Many womens organizations are working to end
gender discrimination in all types of aspects of society. For example:
Women’s Equity Action League (WEAL), pursued legal action on a wide
range of sex discrimination issues, filing lawsuits against law schools and
medical schools for their discriminatory admission policies.
 Outlawing Discrimination in Employment - The federal courts and the
Justice Department entered this area through Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, which outlaws job discrimination by all private and public
employers, including government agencies (such as fire and police
departments), that employ more than fifteen workers.
 Latinos and Asian Americans - The earliest independent Mexican
American political organizations, the League of United Latin American
Citizens (LULAC) and the American GI Forum, worked to stem
discrimination against Mexican Americans in the years after World War II.
Rise of Politics of Civil Rights (contd.)
 Americans with Disabilities - The concept of rights for
people with disabilities began to emerge in the 1970s as
the civil rights model spread to other groups. The seed
was planted in a little-noticed provision of the 1973
Rehabilitation Act that outlawed discrimination against
individuals on the basis of disabilities.
 Gays and Lesbians - In less than thirty years, the gay
movement has become one of the largest civil rights
movements in contemporary America. Beginning with
street protests in the 1960s, it has grown into a well-
financed and sophisticated lobby.