Griswold v. Connecticut 1965

Plaintiffs Side In Connecticut, there was a law that was created in 1879 that prohibited the use of contraceptives. Griswold and Buxton violated that law when they provided contraceptives to married couples. Hugo Black and Potter Steward, both justices on this case, filed dissents. Black argued that the right to privacy was no where to be found in the Constitution.

Defendants Side Connecticut had made a law in 1879 that had prohibited the use of “any drug, medicinal article or instrument for the purpose of preventing conception.” However, this law was almost never enforced. Estelle Griswold and Dr. C. Lee Buxton were found guilty to providing illegal contraception and then appealed to the Supreme Court after the Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut had found the law mentioned above constitutional.

Decision A Connecticut law criminalizing the use of contraceptives violated the right to martial privacy. The ruling was 7-2 in favor of Griswold. In “spirit” of the First, Third, Fifth, and Ninth Amendment, there is a “right to privacy” that cannot be taken away.

Repercussions and Lasting Impacts The decision had made it clear that the Constitution gave a “right to privacy.” This was interpreted as protecting the right of unmarried persons to use birth control (Eisenstadt v. Baird, 1972) and the right of a woman to terminate her pregnancy (Roe v. Wade, 1973)