How Birth Control Became Legal | Griswold v. Connecticut

In episode 58 of Supreme Court Briefs, Estelle Griswold and Dr. C. Lee Buxton open up a clinic and start giving out birth control to married couples. There's only one problem with that. In Connecticut, birth control is illegal.

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New Haven, Connecticut
November 1961

Estelle Griswold and Dr. C. Lee Buxton open a clinic where they give advice and resources to married couples in order to help them avoid getting pregnant. They also prescribed contraceptives, or birth control, for married women. Well this got them in trouble. Local authorities arrested them for breaking a law that prohibited anyone from using “any drug, medicinal article, or instrument for the purpose of preventing conception.” Yep, Connecticut straight up banned using birth control. With the help of P.T. Barnum apparently, the state passed the law way back in 1879.

Well Griswold and Buxton, as well as many others, thought the law banning birth control was wrong. After they were found guilty for breaking it and fined $100 each, they appealed to the Appellate Division of the Circuit Court. Griswold and Buxton argued that banning birth control went against the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Well the Appellate Division of the Circuit Court disagreed, and upheld their conviction, so Griswold and Buxton appealed again, this time to the Connecticut Supreme Court, who...uh...yeah...also upheld it. So Griswold and Buxton appealed again, this time to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on March 29 and 30, 1965. The lawyer representing Griswold and Buxton was Catherine Roraback, who claimed that the birth control ban violated the right to marital privacy guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Now, the word “privacy” does not appear anywhere in the Constitution. However, there was that sneaky Ninth Amendment, which essentially said that there were other rights we all had not specifically listed in the Constitution.

On June 7, 1965, the Court announced they had sided with Griswold. It was 7-2. And guess what? They brought up the Ninth Amendment. They also brought up that the right to privacy was inherent in the First, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments, and said the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment should be applied to incorporate Bill of Rights protections to the states.
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[iammrbeat]

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[iammrbeat]

I can't believe I hadn't covered this one yet. Which Supreme Court case should I cover for this series next?

[randomdudeontheinternet]

Can’t wait for 2020 Presidential Elections in American history.

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I’m flattered that you assume that I’m a history teacher!

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I've been watching your videos a lot lately, and they have helped me decide that I want to change my major and pursue a degree in secondary education social studies and become a history teacher. I always enjoyed history when I was in high school, but your videos have helped me realize that I have a true passion for it. Thank you!

[tktru]

3:37
Anyone else think this was going to transition to a VPN advert?

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All your videos have a 10th grade US history teacher vibe and I am very much here for it

[historyhub]

Do a video on how you would vote in every presidential election before your birth.

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Saw one of your videos because my history teacher showed the class one of them and now I can't stop watching them. Great video!

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I see you working up to more recent cases, and I love it.

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Good job Mr.Beat! Your videos are always informative and entertaining! Thank you, and keep doing what you do!

[goatgaming]

Man I have watched all of 58 supreme court briefs in one-day dude make these more often because I'm addicted keep up the good work :D

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You should do a video briefly discussing all 27 amendments and their history like why they were introduced, I love your videos!

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Mr. Beat, thank you for giving me a serious interest in teaching history. I’ve always been a history fanatic, but you have inspired me to take the initiative to educate people about how are history has made us into the country, people, and world we live in. Even though you’ll probably never see this, Thank you, seriously

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I really find your videos very interesting entertaining and deeply knowledgeable.
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[okk]

Great video! Potter Stewart had a classic line in his dissent saying the law was "uncommonly silly", which has been cited by future justices to explain how the constitution doesn't always protect from silly laws.

[liamrobert]

Keep these coming, when I watch the intro I always crack up