With the slow rolling back of women’s reproductive rights taking place within our country let’s take a moment and observe the forty-year anniversary of a landmark Supreme Court decision that guaranteed a woman’s privacy and right to control her reproductive destiny….but for how long?
Planned Parenthood Celebrates 40 Years of Protected Birth Control
Forty Years After Griswold v. Connecticut Case, Women Still Face Obstacles to Accessing Reliable Birth Control OptionsWASHINGTON, DC … On June 7, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) will celebrate the 40th anniversary of constitutional protection for using birth control in the United States. In 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Connecticut law that made the use of birth control by married couples illegal with its ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut. However, 40 years later, women still face unnecessary and often politically-motivated barriers to contraception.
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“As we celebrate today, we know that the battle for access to birth control is not over,” PPFA Interim President Karen Pearl said. “Even now, we are in the midst of fighting off legislation and policies that would deny women their birth control prescriptions at pharmacies. The future of the Supreme Court is shaky at best. Planned Parenthood will continue to be the leading advocate for reproductive health and rights wherever they are threatened.”
The Supreme Court’s landmark decision was announced June 7, 1965 … five years after FDA approval of the birth control pill and 49 years after Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the United States. Griswold paved the way for the 1972 Supreme Court ruling in Eisenstadt v. Baird, which expanded the protection of birth control to unmarried women … and for the widespread use of contraception that exists today…[…]
Yes, a widespread usage that comes with the price of some women being humiliated and turned-down when trying to refill their birth control prescriptions, due to the vehement anti-choice/anti-contraceptive forces that have taken control of politics within this country. Thankfully we do have the pill and access to it, but for some of us who only have certain pharmacies around us, simply trying to obtain it can be an unnecessary gauntlet that some women must run. But some stumble and are unable to obtain the pill, so some resort to abortions that could have been avoided if the woman had easy access to contraceptive medication. The “gauntlet” has been thrown at women who dare want to control their reproductive destinies, manage their hormonal issues, and even enjoy sex with a reduced risk and fear of an unintentional/unwanted pregnancy. Well, even with the pill the sex might not be good anyway, but you know what I mean.
