 1890 – 1941 – State Courts in 12 States recognized a right to privacy  By 1956 – The number increased to 18  Be 1960 – More than 36 States recognized the right to privacy

Boyd v. US, 1886  First acknowledgement by the Supreme Court of the Right to Privacy  Protection of privacy was protected by the 4 th and 5 th Amendments – holding that they apply  “to all invasions on the part of a man’s home and the privacies of life. It is not the breaking of his doors, and the rummaging of his drawers, that constitute the essence of the offense, but it is the invasion of his indefeasible right of personal security, personal liberty, and private property.”

Katz v. US, 1967 & Terry v. Ohio, 1968  Supreme Court included “reasonable expectations of privacy” into the 4 th Amendment  “Wherever an individual may harbor a ‘reasonable expectation of privacy’ he is entitled to be free from unreasonable government intrusion.”

NAACP v. Alabama, 1958  Supreme Court acknowledged aspects of Privacy in both the 5 th and the 1 st Amendments

Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965  Suggested that the right to privacy can be found in the 1 st, 3 rd, 4 th, 5 th, and 9 th Amendments and applied to the states under the 14 th  9 th Amendment states “the enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people”

Roe v. Wade, 1973  Renquist Court – limited the application of the right to privacy to areas primarily involving reproductive freedom, it has refused to protect other areas of personal autonomy

Skinner v. Oklahoma, 1942  Oklahoma law stated that a person convicted two or more times for “felonies involving moral turpitude” would be sterilized  Supreme Court overturned the law:  “ We are dealing here with legislation which involves one of the basic civil rights of man. Marriage and procreation are fundamental to the very existence and survival of the race. The power to sterilize if exercised may have subtle, far-reaching and devastating effects. In evil or reckless hands it can cause races or types which are inimical to the dominant group to wither and disappear. There is no redemption for the individual whom the law touches. An experiment which the state conducts is to his irreparable injury. His is forever deprived of a basic liberty.”

Eisenstadt v. Baird, 1972 Supreme Court overturned a Massachusetts law forbidding the use of contraceptives by unmarried individualsSupreme Court overturned a Massachusetts law forbidding the use of contraceptives by unmarried individuals Griswold v. Connecticut had already upheld the privacy of a Married couple to use contraceptivesGriswold v. Connecticut had already upheld the privacy of a Married couple to use contraceptives

United States v. Viutch, 1971  Supreme Court upheld a District of Columbia law allowing abortions not only to save a woman’s life, but also to maintain her physical well being  The Court did not rule on whether or not a woman’s right to privacy included her decision to terminate an unwanted pregnancy

History of Abortion Rights in the United States Until mid 1800sUntil mid 1800s  Most states permitted abortions – except after quickening – but even then it was just a minor offense After the Civil War – by 1910After the Civil War – by 1910  Every state – except Kentucky – had made abortion a felony (persistent campaigning of antiabortionists) By late 1960sBy late 1960s  14 states had liberalized laws to permit abortion when the woman’s health was in danger, where there was a likelihood of fetal abnormality, and when the woman was a victim of rape or incest  Alaska, Hawaii, New York and Washington – actually repealed all criminal penalties for abortions performed early in the pregnancy