On the other end of the spectrum,

commentators have also urged for a

role for the protection of human
dignity as a way of shoring up the
protections already enshrined within
the Constitution, or else as a way of
better framing certain common law
or statutory rights. Thus, in the area
of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence,
advocates counsel that courts
should
examine
whether
the
accused governmental action is
offensive
to
the
targeted
individuals inherent dignity.92
Under this reading, the right to
dignity guards against degradation
or humiliation by the state from a
psychological, rather than physical,
standpoint. Likewise, both the
procedural and substantive due
process
clauses
of
the
Fourteenth Amendment have
been identified as capturing a
dignity interest.93 Outside the
constitutional realm, some have
noted the relevance of dignity within
the context of torts such as the
misappropriation of the right to
publicity and intentional infliction of
emotional distress.94 For others, the
idea of dignity, as the fundamental
commitment
of
the
modern
democratic state, supports the
position that the state has
affirmative obligations to provide
certain services to its citizens, such
as supporting the familycare needs
of individuals.95 What should be of
great interest to civil libertarians who
tend to oppose the use of the right
to dignity is that the inherent
worth of the human person may be
all that one has left, the only thing
untouchable by power.96 It thus
might act as the final bulwark
against an everintruding state.

Na outra ponta do espectro,

doutrinadores tambm tm reiterado
pelo desenvolvimento para a
proteo da dignidade humana
como uma forma de contemplar as
protees j consagradas dentro da
Constituio, ou . Logo, na rea da
jurisprudncia da Quadragsima
Emenda, os advogados aconselham
que as cortes deveriam examinar
se o ato governamental apontado
ofensivo para a dignidade inerente
do indivduo. Sob essa leitura, o
direito dignidade atua contra
degradao ou humilhao pelo
estado sob um ponto de vista mais
psicolgico que fsico. Dessa forma,
tanto o devido processo legal
procedimental quanto substantivo
da Quadragsima Emenda foram
identificados como desdobramentos
da dignidade. Alm do contexto
constitucional, muitos perceberam a
relevncia da dignidade no contexto
de danos tais como a disfuno do
direito publicidade e imposio
intencional de sofrimento emocional.
Para outros, a ideia de dignidade,
como um compromisso fundamental
dos
estados
democrticos
modernos, sustenta a posio que o
estado tem obrigaes positivas em
fornecer certos servios para seus
cidados tais como suprir as
necessidades
de
cuidados
familiares de indivduos. O que
deveria ser de grande interesse
para os libertrios civis que tendem
a se opor ao uso do direito
dignidade que a caracterstica
inerente da pessoa humana pode
ser tudo o que tem ao lado, no
somente algo intocvel pelo poder.
Isso, portanto, pode agir como o

baluarte final contra um estado

extremamente interventor.

Critics attack the assertion of a

transcendent
truth
about
the
meaning of dignity by positing that
[t]he subjectivity of human dignity
as a policy standard is compounded
by the variability between first and
thirdparty assessments of dignity,
and therefore it is not an effective
policy tool.97 In other words,
dignity is characterized as merely a
pretty concept that varies according
to the eye of the beholder. A further
accusation under this framework is
that the thirdparty assessment of
dignity is privileged over the
firstparty one, as external values are
imposed onto the individual, even
though that individual might not
accord with the states particular
interpretation of dignity.98 However,
these critics make overblown claims
that the adoption of dignity as a
policy standard to be protected and
enforced
through
law
would
certainly require designating
the following as threats to
human dignity: microwave popcorn
and Twinkies, on the ground that
they lead to obesity, as well as
pagers and cell phones, on the
ground that they isolate human
beings and force them into working
all the time.99 The problem with
these assertions is that no notion of
dignity is needed to restrict or
prohibit
the
aforementioned
threats. In other words, whether
society decides to adopt food
standards to guard against an obese
population
is
dignityneutral.
Therefore, these attacks offer
nothing on either side of the

argument, as they primarily assert

that dignity rights will impact issues
that have nothing to do with the
concept.
Os crticos atacam a afirmativa de
uma verdade transcendental sobre
o significado da dignidade .... que a
subjetividade da dignidade humana
como uma poltica padro composta
pela variedade entre a primeira e a
terceira parte

The United States Supreme Court

has referenced human dignity when
tasked with interpreting certain
provisions of the Constitution. These
references have been steady,
although
inconsistent
and
haphazard, so that there is a
partially
developed
body
of
American constitutional law that
deals with some semblance of the
right to dignity. One commentator
has identified eight broad categories
of constitutional analyses where the
Supreme Court has invoked dignity
in more than just a random fashion.
As discussed further below, it is the
Kantian vision of dignity that
seemingly animates those Justices
who find that certain constitutional
clauses incorporate the concept of
human dignity. In other words, it is a
persons
inherent
autonomy,
integrity, and right to be respected
by the government that motivates
references to dignity by the
Supreme Court

A Corte Suprema dos Estados

Unidos menciona a dignidade
humana quando incumbida da
interpretao
de
determinados
dispositivos da Constituio. Estas
referncias foram estabilizadas
apesar de inconsistentes e casuais,
assim h um grupo parcialmente
desenvolvido
do
Direito
Constitucional americano que ...
com muita semelhana do direito
dignidade.
Um
doutrinador
identificou oito grandes categorias
de anlises constitucionais nas
quais a Suprema Corte invocou a
dignidade mais que apenas um
hbito aleatrio. Como discutido
anteriormente, essa a viso
kantiana de dignidade que parece
animar a Justia e que encontra
determinadas
clusulas
constitucionais incorporadas ao
conceito de dignidade humana. Em
outras palavras, a autonomia
inerente
da
personalidade,
integridade e direito a ser respeitado
pelo Governo que motiva as
referncias
dignidade
pela
Suprema Corte.