III 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 162 

Expressing the sense of the Senate concerning Griswold v. Connecticut. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 7, 2005 

Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. CORZINE, Mrs. BOXER, Mrs. MURRAY, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. 

REID, Mr. FEINGOLD, and Mr. JEFFORDS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate concerning Griswold v. 

Connecticut. 

Whereas June 7, 2005, marks the 40th anniversary of the 

United States Supreme Court decision in Griswold v. 

Connecticut (1965) in which the Court recognized the 

constitutional right of married couples to use contraception—a right that the Court would extend to unmarried 

individuals within less than a decade; 

Whereas the decision in Griswold v. Connecticut paved the 

way for widespread use of birth control among American 

women; 

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognized family planning in its published list of the ‘‘Ten 

Great Public Health Achievements in the 20th Century’’; 
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•SRES 162 IS

Whereas the typical woman in the United States wants only 

2 children and therefore spends roughly 30 years of her 

life trying to prevent pregnancy; 

Whereas birth control is a critical component of basic preventive health care for women and has been the driving force 

in reducing national rates of unintended pregnancy and 

the need for abortion; 

Whereas the ability of women to control their fertility and 

avoid unintended pregnancy has led to dramatic declines 

in maternal and infant mortality rates and has improved 

maternal and infant health; 

Whereas in 1965, there were 31.6 maternal deaths per 

100,000 live births and in 2000 there were 9.8 maternal 

deaths per 100,000 live births; 

Whereas in 1965, 24.7 infants under 1 year of age died per 

1,000 live births and in 2003 this figure had declined to 

7 infant deaths per 1,000 live births; 

Whereas the ability of women to control their fertility has enabled them to achieve personal educational and professional goals critical to the economic success of the United 

States; 

Whereas in 1965, 7 percent of women completed 4 or more 

years of college compared to 26 percent in 2004; 

Whereas in 1965, women age 16 and over constituted 39 percent of the workforce compared to 59 percent in 2004; 

Whereas publicly-funded family planning programs have increased the ability of women, regardless of economic status, to access birth control and experience the resulting 

health and economic benefits; 
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•SRES 162 IS

Whereas public investment in this most basic preventive 

health care is extremely cost effective—for every dollar 

spent on publicly funded family planning, $3 is saved in 

pregnancy-related and newborn care cost to the Medicaid 

program alone; 

Whereas Congress had repeatedly recognized the importance 

of a women’s ability to access contraceptives through 

support for Medicaid, title X of the Public Health Service 

Act, and the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program; 

Whereas 40 years after the Griswold decision, many women 

still face challenges in accessing birth control and using 

it effectively; 

Whereas the United States has one of the highest rates of 

unintended pregnancy among Western nations and each 

year, half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended, and nearly half of those end in abortion; 

Whereas teen pregnancy rates have dramatically declined, 

still, 78 percent of teen pregnancies are unintended and 

more than one-third of teen girls will become pregnant 

before age 20; and 

Whereas publicly funded family planning clinics are the only 

source of healthcare for many uninsured and low-income 

women: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 

2 (1) forty years ago the United States Supreme 

3 Court in Griswold v. Connecticut held that married 

4 people have a constitutional right to use contracep5 tives, a right that the Court would extend to unmar6 ried individuals within less than a decade; 
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•SRES 162 IS

1 (2) the ability of women to control their fertility 

2 through birth control has vastly improved maternal 

3 and infant health, has reduced national rates of un4 intended pregnancy, and has allowed women the 

5 ability to achieve personal educational and profes6 sional goals critical to the economic success of the 

7 United States; and 

8 (3) Congress should take further steps to en9 sure that all women have universal access to afford10 able contraception. 

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