At stake here is "the interest of a parent in the companionship, care,
custody, and management of his or her children." Stanley v. Illinois,
405 U.S. 645, 651 (1972). This interest occupies a unique place
in our legal culture, given the centrality of family life as the focus
for personal meaning and responsibility. "[F]ar more precious . . .
than property rights," May v. Anderson,
345 U.S. 528, 533 (1953), parental rights have been deemed to
be among those "essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free
men," Meyer v. Nebraska,
262 U.S. 390, 399 (1923), and to be more significant and priceless
than "`liberties which derive merely from shifting economic arrangements.'"
Stanley v. Illinois,
405 U.S., at 651 , quoting Kovacs v. Cooper,
336 U.S. 77, 95 (1949) (Frankfurter, J., concurring). Accordingly,
although the Constitution is verbally silent on the specific subject
of families, freedom of personal choice in matters of family life long
has been viewed as a fundamental liberty interest worthy of protection
under the Fourteenth Amendment. Smith v. Organization of Foster Families,
431 U.S. 816, 845 (1977); Moore v. East Cleveland,
431 U.S. 494, 499 (1977) (plurality opinion); Prince v. Massachusetts,
321 U.S. 158, 166 (1944); Pierce v. Society of Sisters,
268 U.S. 510, 534 -535 (1925); Meyer v. Nebraska,
262 U.S., at 399 . Within the general ambit of family integrity,
the Court has accorded a high degree of constitutional respect to a
natural parent's interest both in controlling the details of the child's
upbringing, [452 U.S. 18,
39] Wisconsin v. Yoder,
406 U.S. 205, 232 -234 (1972); Pierce v. Society of Sisters,
268 U.S., at 534 -535, and in retaining the custody and companionship
of the child, Smith v. Organization of Foster Families,
431 U.S., at 842 -847; Stanley v. Illinois,
405 U.S., at 651 .
[Lassiter
v. Department of Social Services, 452 U.S. 18 (1981)]
"The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the
vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness
by free men.
"Marriage is one of the `basic civil rights of man,' fundamental
to our very existence and survival." Id., at 12, quoting Skinner
v. Oklahoma ex rel. Williamson,
316 U.S. 535, 541 (1942).
[434 U.S. 374, 384]
[Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967)]
|