Griswold v. Connecticut


Estelle Griswold (Executive Director of Planned Parenthood of CT) v. State of CT--1965

 

In 1965, Connecticut was one of the only states that still had laws making birth control illegal. In this case, Griswold was charged with giving out birth control to married couples.

 

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was against the fundamental �right to privacy� � guaranteed by the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution � for the government to interfere with individuals who are making decisions about intimate, personal matters such as whether or not to have a child.This case is important because it was the first case that linked �right to privacy� with decisions about becoming a mother, abortions, birth control and everything else that falls under the umbrella of reproductive rights. Because it was a Supreme Court case, this also gave women all

over the country the right to obtain birth control without governmental interference.