Skip to content

Family and Personal Rights

Family and personal rights are the protections people have over the most private parts of life, including relationships, raising children, health choices, and the end of life. They come from the Constitution, state and federal law, and court decisions. Legislatures, courts, and families themselves all shape how they work.

11articles
3topics
October 9last updated

An independent team explaining how government works

GovFacts is a nonpartisan site that makes government concepts, policies and programs easier to understand and use.

Referenced by Brookings, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, Pew Research, Snopes, The Hill and USA Today.

The Webby-recognized AI behind our articles »

Latest in Family and Personal Rights

Topics in Family and Personal Rights

Family life

The law of marriage and relationships is covered in Marriage and Family Law, and the role of parents in raising children is covered in Parental Rights.

Personal health choices

Decisions about pregnancy and medical care are covered in Reproductive Rights and Healthcare Access, and planning for serious illness and death is covered in End-of-life Decisions.

All Articles on Family and Personal Rights

Overturning Roe v. Wade Also Affected Digital Privacy

For nearly half a century, the Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade stood as a landmark of American law. It established that…

39 Min Read

From Privacy to Marriage: How the Ninth Amendment Shaped Modern America

Of the twelve amendments proposed in the original Bill of Rights, the Ninth Amendment is perhaps the most enigmatic and, for much of American…

31 Min Read

New Parent Rights Guide: Work Leave, Benefits, and Legal Protections

The United States has a complex web of federal, state, and local laws that govern job-protected leave, workplace accommodations, healthcare access, financial assistance, and…

37 Min Read

Debating Social Media for Minors: A Guide to the Issues, Laws, and Arguments

The question of how to manage children's and teenagers' access to social media has evolved from a private family matter into a pressing national…

41 Min Read

How America Regulates Minors’ Access to Pornography

The internet that parents knew as teenagers no longer exists. What began as a frontier governed by self-regulation has become a battleground where states…

41 Min Read

Debate: Abortion Policy in America

Abortion policy in America involves competing rights, state laws and federal proposals, with evidence about health, births, access and financial consequences.

52 Min Read

Mailing Cremated Remains via USPS

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is the only entity legally authorized to ship cremated remains, both within the United States and internationally. This…

10 Min Read