Legal Decision and Laws Concerning Contraception in the United States

Comstock Laws (1873)

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Anthony Comstock from New York City was so distressed at the open signs of the decay of marriage and society as a result of contraception that he constructed what became known as the federal "Comstock Act," which made the sale or distribution of contraceptive devices or information illegal.

Buck v. Bell 274 US 200 (1927)

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In the landmark case, Buck v. Bell, the Supreme Court upheld a Virginia statue that allowed physicians to perform a sexual sterilization on a patient of a mental institution without his or her consent. This case was considered a tremendous victory for the eugenics movement.

United States v. One Package of Japanese Pessaries, 86 F.2d 737 (2nd Cir. 1936)

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United States v. One Package of Japanese Pessaries was a case of the Circuit court of New York, and its ruling only applied to that jurisdiction. This case successfully challenged the Comstock Act, and made it legal for medical professionals to ship and receive contraceptives and contraception information. The effect of this decision was far-reaching, however, especially within the medical community.

Griswold v. Connecticut 381 US 479 (1965)

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Griswold v. Connecticut extended the notion of the "right to privacy" to include the use of contraceptives by married couples. This case directly influenced the 1973 case Roe v. Wade (410 US 113) which made abortion legal.

Eisenstadt v. Baird 405 US 438 (1972)

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Eisenstadt v. Baird was decided just a few years after Griswold, and it extended the "right of privacy" of contraceptive use to include any individual, not just married persons.

Carey v. Population Services 431 US 678 (1977)

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Carey v. Population Services struck down a state law that prohibited the sale of contraceptive devices to minors and the open advertisement of contraceptives.

Bolger v. Youngs Drug Products Corp. 463 US 60 (1983)

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Bolger v. Youngs Drug Products Corp. made unconstitutional a federal law that prohibited the unsolicited distribution of contraception propaganda through the US Postal Service.

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey 505 US 833 (1992)

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This case deals with abortion, however it contains a very famous quote about role of contraceptives in the sexual lives of Americans. "[F]or two decades of economic and social developments, people have organized intimate relationships and made choices that define their views of themselves and their places in society, in reliance on the availability of abortion in the event that contraception should fail" (505 US 833, 856).