Estelle Griswold, Penumbras and Reproductive Rights

Griswold v. Connecticut
381 U.S. 479 (1965)
Docket Number: 496

Abstract

Argued:
March 29, 1965

Decided:
June 7, 1965

Subjects:
Judicial Power: Standing to Sue, Personal Injury

Facts of the Case
Griswold was the Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut. Both she and the Medical Director for the League gave information, instruction, and other medical advice to married couples concerning birth control. Griswold and her colleague were convicted under a Connecticut law which criminalized the provision of counseling, and other medical treatment, to married persons for purposes of preventing conception.

Question Presented
Does the Constitution protect the right of marital privacy against state restrictions on a couple's ability to be counseled in the use of contraceptives?

Conclusion

Though the Constitution does not explicitly protect a general right to privacy, the various guarantees within the Bill of Rights create penumbras, or zones, that establish a right to privacy. Together, the First, Third, Fourth, and Ninth Amendments, create a new constitutional right, the right to privacy in marital relations. The Connecticut statute conflicts with the exercise of this right and is therefore null and void.

From:
http://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/149/
More at:
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/griswold.html