Q. What are natural rights?

John Locke’s natural rights theory is derived from what is called natural law. It maintains that individuals enter society with basic rights, such as the right to life and liberty, which cannot be abrogated by government. See more.
--from International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences 

The doctrine of natural rights emerged in the period commonly known as the Enlightenment. While some form of the doctrine can be found throughout the body of thinkers in this period, the most famous and influential natural rights thinker for America was the British philosopher John Locke (1632–1704). See more.
--from Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States