Planned Parenthood is heralding the 50th anniversary of a Supreme Court decision protecting birth control and opening the door to abortion by calling for expanded access to contraception.
The nationwide organization, which is partially funded by taxpayers to provide women healthcare, birth control and abortion, said the court decision, Griswold v. Connecticut, “provided the first constitutional protection for birth control and paved the way for where we are today, when 99 percent of American women between the ages of 15 and 44 who are sexually active have used birth control at some time in their lives.”
The organization said that birth control and abortion have made it easier for more women to work, and they cited reports that it has changed the business world forever.
They also noted a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that “named family planning, including access to modern contraception, one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.”
Estelle Griswold, left, medical adviser and executive director of the Planned Parenthood clinic in New Haven, Conn., and Cornelia Jahncke, at right, president of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut, celebrating victory in a 1965 case on access to birth control. AP Photo
In the June 7, 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut decision, the court ruled that a ban on contraceptives violated the right to marital privacy.
Planned Parenthood used the 50th birthday to push for expanded access to birth control and abortion and called for greater funding of their efforts.
“The public health legacy of Griswold cannot be overstated. It opened a pivotal door for the expansion of vital reproductive health services for women and their families,” said Judy Tabar, president & CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, covering Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
