U.S. must fight erosion of our right to privacy

Our country has a history of state laws that intrude into the privacy of families. It's hard to believe, but states have forced members of families to undergo sterilization or use contraceptive devices involuntarily. If the right to privacy were revoked some states would require women to undergo the full term of a pregnancy even in cases when they are victims of rape or incest, or the pregnancy threatens their own lives, potentially leaving already living children without a mother.

With new technology the capacity of the government to intrude into the intimate lives of families is greater now than at any other time in the history of the world. We have recently learned that our government is willing to spy on its citizens without judiciary oversight. New technology enables spying in ways previously unimagined and we need the protection of the courts to insure our rights are not violated.

We, the citizens of Utah, can make 2006 the year that Utahns protect privacy. We can do that by requesting that Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett ask Supreme Court nominees hard questions. First and foremost, "How do you define the right to privacy?" If Alito (or any other nominee) does not answer this question to our satisfaction, then he should not sit as judge on the highest court in the land.

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Gena Edvalson is the interim executive director of the Utah Progressive Network.