TheGriswold v. Connecticutcase was decided on June 7, 1965. This case was significant because the Supreme Court ruled that married people had the right touse contraception.It essentially paved the road for the reproductive privacy and freedoms that are in place today. Prior to this case,birth controluse was either restricted or outlawed.
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Background
In 1960, there were many states that had laws (usually passed sometime during the late 1800s) that restricted the advertising and sale of contraceptives. Some states, like Connecticut and Massachusetts, prohibited birth control use altogether.
In 1961, Estelle Griswold (Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut) and Dr. C. Lee Buxton (Chair of the Department of Obstetrics at Yale University School of Medicine) decided to open a birth control clinic in New Haven, Connecticut with the chief intent to challenge the Connecticut law’s constitutionality. Their clinic provided information, instruction, and medical advice to married people about ways to prevent conception. At the clinic, they would also examine the women (wives) and prescribe the bestcontraceptive deviceor material for each of them to use.
Plaintiff’s Claim
InGriswold v. Connecticut, Estelle Griswold and Dr. C. Lee Buxton disputed that the Connecticut law against birth control use conflicted with the 14th Amendment, which states,
“No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny any person the equal protection of the laws” (Amendment 14, Section 1).
Supreme Court Hearing
On March 29, 1965, Estelle Griswold and Dr. Buxton argued their case in front of the Supreme Court. Seven justices presided over the hearing.
Supreme Court Decision
The case was decided on June 7, 1965. In a 7-2 decision, the court ruled that the Connecticut law was unconstitutional because it violated the Due Process Clause. The court further stated that the constitutional right to privacy guaranteed married couples the right to make their own decisions about contraception. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the majority opinion.
Who Voted For and Against the Griswold v. Connecticut Ruling
The Rationale Behind the Griswold v. Connecticut Decision
This Supreme Court decision overturned a Connecticut law that prohibited contraceptive counseling as well as the use of contraception. The ruling recognized that the Constitution does not explicitly protect one’s general right to privacy; however, the Bill of Rights created penumbras, or zones of privacy, into which the government could not interfere.
TheGriswold v. Connecticutruling essentially determined that privacy within a marriage is a personal zone off-limits to the government. As per Justice Douglas ’s opinion of the Court,
What Griswold v. Connecticut Did Not Allow
Though theGriswold v. Connecticutruling legalized the use of contraception, this liberty wasonlyapplied to married couples. Therefore, birth control use was still prohibited for individuals who were not married. The right to use contraception wasnotextended to unmarried people UNTIL theEisenstadt v. BairdSupreme Court case decided in 1972!
Significance of Griswold v. Connecticut
TheGriswold v. Connecticutdecision has helped to lay the foundation for much of the reproductive freedom currently allowed under the law. Since this ruling, the Supreme Court has cited the right to privacy in numerous Court hearings. TheGriswold v. Connecticutset the precedent for thetotal legalization of birth control, as determined in theEisenstadt v. Bairdcase.
Additionally, the right to privacy served as the cornerstone in the landmarkRoe v. WadeSupreme Court case. InRoe v. Wade, the Court determined that the right of women tochoose to have an abortionis protected as a private decision between her and her doctor. At the time, the Court further ruled that banning abortion would violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects against state actions that contradict the right to privacy (including a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy).However, nearly 50 years later, the Supreme CourtoverturnedRoe v. Wade—ending the constitutional right to abortion. Due to that ruling, each state now has the power to ban or restrict abortion access.
5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Griswold v. Connecticut,381 US U.S. 479. Justia.Brass LA.An arrest in New Haven, contraception and the right to privacy. Yale School of Medicine.Congress.gov.Constitution annotated.Baird v. Eisenstadt,310 F. Supp. 951. D. Mass.Oyez.Roe v. Wade.
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Griswold v. Connecticut,381 US U.S. 479. Justia.Brass LA.An arrest in New Haven, contraception and the right to privacy. Yale School of Medicine.Congress.gov.Constitution annotated.Baird v. Eisenstadt,310 F. Supp. 951. D. Mass.Oyez.Roe v. Wade.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Griswold v. Connecticut,381 US U.S. 479. Justia.Brass LA.An arrest in New Haven, contraception and the right to privacy. Yale School of Medicine.Congress.gov.Constitution annotated.Baird v. Eisenstadt,310 F. Supp. 951. D. Mass.Oyez.Roe v. Wade.
Griswold v. Connecticut,381 US U.S. 479. Justia.
Brass LA.An arrest in New Haven, contraception and the right to privacy. Yale School of Medicine.
Congress.gov.Constitution annotated.
Baird v. Eisenstadt,310 F. Supp. 951. D. Mass.
Oyez.Roe v. Wade.
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